Cyprus could become a member of NATO when conditions permit, the country’s president says

Associated Press

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The president of Cyprus says the Mediterranean island nation could apply to become a member of NATO when its armed forces receive the necessary training and equipment with U.S. help to bring it up to the standards of the world’s premier military alliance. President Nikos Christodoulides told The Associated Press on Thursday that European Union member Cyprus can’t currently join NATO because of objections that Turkey would raise to its application. Turkey, which maintains more than 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern part of ethnically divided Cyprus, doesn’t recognize the island’s government based in the Greek Cypriot southern part. Christodoulides didn’t elaborate on how Turkish objections could be sidestepped.