Menendez and Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone

Cyprus was faced with a difficult situation in a tension-packed political setting, in the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Both Cyprus and Greece should leverage the Greek diaspora in the United States, which has communication channels and the ability to put pressure on the decision-making process, as was amply shown by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez’s rigorous letter to Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry denouncing “… Turkey’s illegal incursion into Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),” and calling on the vice president to address the issue with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during his upcoming visit in Ankara and [demand] that he “… immediately withdraw” Turkish ships from the Cypriot EEZ.

As a result of Mr. Menendez’s deep relations with the expatriate community, he is Cyprus’ most staunch supporter in the U.S. Senate. Last Friday, long telephone conversations between Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiadis and Vice President Biden were a consequence of Menendez’s influence, not only due to his institutional role, but also his contact on a personal level, which he maintained throughout the years with Biden and Kerry, with whom he had been cooperating in the Foreign Relations Committee.

Following the meeting of prominent leaders of the Hellenic-American community with a White House National Security Council spokesman and the undersecretary of state for foreign affairs, they were asked to call on Erdogan’s government to withdraw the Turkish seismic research vessel “Barbaros” from the Cypriot EEZ. Today, a few days since the incident, the U.S. Acting Special Envoy and Coordinator for Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein arrived in Nicosia.

Naturally, the Hellenic-American community’s political influence does not suffice. Bridges of communication with powerful energy interests are required. Nevertheless, they are currently being built. American, Italian, French, Israeli and Korean companies are participating in the research process for the extraction of shale gas in the Cypriot EEZ. Greek Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Giannis Maniatis held meetings earlier this week in Washington and New York, promoting Greece and Cyprus’ role in the energy puzzle of the eastern Mediterranean.

The strategy for peripheral cooperation with Israel and Egypt has upgraded Cyprus’ geopolitical significance. The Jewish lobby in Washington is an ally. In general, trilateral cooperation among Athens, Nicosia and Cairo is opening up new prospects for development in the energy and geopolitical field.

The political scene is getting tough. The West’s priority to contain the Islamic State is improving Turkey’s role in the process. However, the Greek expatriate community is a powerful asset with great political influence, which was revealed after Menendez’s intervention. The people who know how things work in Washington realize the benefits yielded from systematic cooperation and not a meaningless political sop to relations with the Greek-American community. The Greek expatriate community’s political influence is a unique “weapon” that other countries do not possess.