No. 7
WASHINGTON - AHI applauds Hellenic Caucus members Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL | Hellenic Caucus Co-Chair), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH | Hellenic Caucus Co-Chair), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), and Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) for sending a letter to President Biden which urges him to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion and occupation of the Republic of Cyprus.
The letter highlights the history of support President Biden has given over his career to seeking reunification of the island of Cyprus, while also pushing him to take further steps as president of the United States to address this critically important issue.
The letter also states steps taken to improve bilateral relations between the United States and the Republic of Cyprus, and additional steps which could be taken to further elevate bilateral relations.
The first of such steps was a request that President Biden invite the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, to the White House for an official state visit. This would both bolster the relationship between two countries and send a message to the world that the U.S. will continue to preserve and protect democratic liberties.
"For decades, President Biden has been a strong advocate for a Cyprus whole, free, and at peace. As President, he is in a unique position to make Cyprus a higher policy priority in American foreign policy, as he stated to AHI during his time in the U.S. Senate," President Nick Larigakis said. "That step can be taken by extending an invitation to meet with President Christodoulides at the White House to mark the 50th anniversary of Turkey's brutal illegal invasion of Cyprus."
In 1989, then-U.S. Senator Biden wrote to then-AHI Chairman Dr. Dean Loomis:
“… we must urge the new Administration [President George H.W. Bush] to make Cyprus a higher policy priority in American foreign policy … 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.”
Read the letter here.
_____________________________________________________________________________
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.