US warned of ‘escalation’ on Cyprus

TURKEY has warned that US movestoliftadecades-oldarms embargo on Cyprus would be a “dangerous escalation”, as relations deteriorated further between the NATO allies.

The US Congress voted Tuesday to end the embargo on the island, which was imposed in 1987 to avoid an arms race and encourage the conflict’s resolution.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to a coup engineered by the then military regime in Athens.

The US decision “will have no outcome other than hampering efforts towards a settlement on the island and creating a dangerous escalation,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement late Tuesday.

The US measure was approved as part of a large defence spending bill that passed both chambers of the US Congress, with President Donald Trump expected to sign it into law.