No. 3
WASHINGTON, DC - In December 2023, Michael Rubin, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, quoted in his Washington Examiner piece “Biden must face Kissinger’s Eastern Mediterranean mistake” a statement made by then-Senator Joe Biden to the American Hellenic Institute in 1989.
In his correspondence with AHI, Biden stated that “We cannot lose sight of the fact that the rights of Greek Cypriots have been trampled upon, and we must ensure that their claims to ancestral land and property seized during the 1974 invasion are not compromised. Finally, we must send a signal to Turkey that until it has removed every last soldier from Cyprus, it will never be recognized as a full member of the international community.”
The quote was provided to demonstrate Biden’s history of supporting the Republic of Cyprus in their efforts to achieve peaceful reunification of the area of their country illegally occupied by Turkey since 1974. However, as President of the United States, Biden has been criticized for not doing enough to address Turkey’s continual aggression in the region.
Rubin urged Biden “to lead a bipartisan policy revision” of U.S.-Turkey relations to prioritize the interests of the United States and rebuke the actions of Turkey that are contrary to this goal.
He also criticized the policies of the late Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, which focused on “prioritizing short-term concessions” rather than achieving the long-term strategic interests of the United States. In contrast to Biden’s support for the Republic of Cyprus, Kissinger stated that “There is no American reason why the Turks should not have one-third of Cyprus" and that “The Turkish tactics are right — grab what they want and then negotiate on the basis of possession." Yet, as Rubin highlights, Kissinger “never explained why green-lighting Turkish aggression was an American interest.”
It is clear that Kissinger miscalculated. Acting to prevent the invasion of the Republic of Cyprus would have averted the death of innocent civilians and the destruction of their homes. It also would have enabled the United States to better achieve their long-term regional interests in the East Mediterranean. History will remember that Kissinger’s failure to protect the Republic of Cyprus was also a failure to protect U.S. interests.
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The American Hellenic Institute is an independent non-profit Greek American public policy center and think tank that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.
For additional information, please contact us at (561) 529-0306 or [email protected]. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at http://www.ahiworld.org.