Geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Cypriot Perspective.

• Author: Sempa, Francis P.
• Position: Brief article

By Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister of foreign Affairs, Republic of Cyprus

http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/events/2013/5/09%20cyprus/20130509_cyprus_kasou

lides_transcript.pdf

In a recent talk at the Brookings Institution, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Ioannis Kasoulides, presented a Cypriot perspective on the international issues of the Eastern Mediterranean region, which, unsurprisingly, placed the Republic of Cyprus at the center of the region's geopolitics.

The Foreign Minister made it clear that his government sees itself as part of the Western security system, touting its membership in the European Union and its friendly relations with Israel. He emphasized his government's desire to be a partner of the United States in economic and security matters in the region.

He reviewed the many security issues that are common to both Cyprus and the United States, including Iran's quest for nuclear weapons, the developments of the "Arab Spring" in the...