Foreign relations have reportedly always been strong between

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. Cyprus has been a supporter of Armenia in its struggle for the recognition of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

, economic stability and the resolution to the

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...

conflict. In return Armenia has been advocating a stable Cyprus after the Turkish invasion in 1974 and supporting a lasting solution to the Cyprus dispute. Today relations between Armenia and Cyprus include cooperation in the areas of trade, military, intelligence services, foreign policy and arts.

Modern relations

Post Armenian independence

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Inter ethnic fighting between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan broke out shortly after the parliament of

, an autonomous oblast in Azerbaijan, voted to unify the region with Armenia on February 20, 1988. The Armenian demand to unify Karabakh with Armenia, which proliferated in the late 1980s, began in a relatively peaceful manner; however, as the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's disintegration neared, the dispute gradually grew into a violent conflict between the ethnic groups in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in ethnic cleansing by all sides. The joint declaration between Cyprus and Armenia in January 2011 mentions that the Republic of Cyprus expresses its support to the constructive efforts of Armenia to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group process through negotiations based on the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final act and the elements proposed by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries, which include, inter alia, the determination of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh through legally binding expression of will. In return Armenian President welcomed Cyprus position as a member of EU for its balanced stance on the Karabakh issue, drawing attention to determination of Nagorno-Karabakh's final status in terms of legally binding free expression of will. .

Armenian genocide recognition

Cyprus has been one of the pioneering countries in recognising the

, when on 25 January 1965 Foreign Minister

Spyros Kyprianou Spyros Achilleos Kyprianou ( el, Σπύρος Κυπριανού; 28 October 1932 – 12 March 2002) was one of the most prominent politicians and barristers of modern Cyprus. He served as the second president of Cyprus from 1977 to 1988. ...

first raised the issue to the

General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. Prior to his powerful speech, a delegation comprising ARF Dashnaktsoutiun Bureau members Dr. Papken Papazian and Berj Missirlia, as well as Armenian National Committee of Cyprus members Anania Mahdessian and Vartkes Sinanian, handed him a memorandum urging Cyprus' support in raising the issue at the United Nations.

was also the first European country (and the second world-wide, after

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

) to officially recognise the Armenian genocide. On 24 April 1975, after the determined efforts and the submission by Representative Dr. Antranik L. Ashdjian, Resolution 36 was voted unanimously by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Representative Aram Kalaydjian was instrumental in passing unanimously through the

two more resolutions regarding the

: Resolution 74/29–04–1982, submitted by the Foreign Relations' Parliamentary Committee, and Resolution 103/19–04–1990, submitted by all parliamentary parties. Resolution 103 declared 24 April as a National Remembrance Day of the Armenian Genocide in Cyprus. Larnaca monument

Since 1965, when Cypriot government officials started participating in the annual Armenian genocide functions, Cyprus' political leaders are often keynote speakers in those functions organised to commemorate the Armenian genocide. During the last years, there is usually a march starting from the centre of Nicosia and ending at the Sourp Asdvadzadzin church in Strovolos, where a commemorative event takes place in front of the Armenian Genocide Monument; other events may also take place, such as blood donations.

Armenian genocide memorials

As the second country in the world to recognize the

, Cyprus has built three genocide memorials in respect to the victims. One of the memorials is located in Nicosia, and the others are located in

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 1 ...

and

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

Cypriot response to the release of Ramil Safarov

Cyprus Minister of Foreign Affairs

Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis ( el, Ερατώ Κοζάκου-Μαρκουλλή; born 3 August 1949) is a Cypriot politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus from July 2007 to March 2008 and from 5 August 2011 - 27 February 20 ...

's statement said "we deeply regret and deplore this Presidential pardon and the damage inflicted by the actions that followed the release, aimed at glorifying this hideous crime, to the reconciliation efforts with Azerbaijan and we are also very concerned of its effects on regional stability." Following the release of Ramil Safarov immediate protests broke out in all cities of Cyprus with the biggest being in Nicosia taking place outside the Hungarian Embassy. Cypriot press expressed negatively on the role of the Hungarian government for the release of Ramil Safarov.

Areas of Cooperation

Educational cooperation

There are Armenian Elementary Schools in Cyprus in the cities of

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

and Nicosia and a Gymnasium in Nicosia. The Melkonian Educational Institute was the most renowned co-educational institution of Armenian-Cypriots. Founded in 1926, the Melkonian Institute was open to Armenian students from all over the world and offered a comprehensive secondary school curriculum. All subjects, except for the Armenian language, were taught in English and foreign languages offered included Greek, French, Arabic, Persian, Russian and Bulgarian. A daily hourly radio programme by the

Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation ( gr, Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου , tr, Kıbrıs Radyo Yayın Kurumu), or CyBC (ΡΙΚ, KRYK), is Cyprus' public broadcasting service. It transmits island-wide on four radio and two domestic ...

in Armenian includes extensive interviews, news coverage, cultural reports and music. Two Armenian monthly newspapers have been founded on the island, Artsankank (1995) and Azad Tsayn (founded 2003), which provide national and international news, primarily in Armenian and with certain columns printed in Greek and in English.

Economic cooperation

Every year, Cyprus-Armenian Business Forums are held either in Nicosia or in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

, with an aim to further boost trade and investment between the two countries. Armenian companies will be able to expand more effectively into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and Middle East markets in co-operation with Cypriot companies. This co-operation can and should be reciprocal, with Armenia serving as an access route to the Caucasian countries for the business world of Cyprus.

Cultural cooperation

The Armenian community of Cyprus receives a generous funding from the Cypriot government, which enables the organisation of concerts, dance performances, art and photographic exhibitions, as well as literary events. The Armenian Prelature of Cyprus has allocated space within its premises (Utidjian Hall) to encourage cultural events, such as the annual Autumn Book Exhibition. The Middle/Near East Armenian Research Centre (established in 1996 by Vartan Malian) houses a reference library and archival material in its Nicosia premises.

Humanitarian aid

Following the December 1988 earthquake in Armenia, the Republic of Cyprus was one of the first countries to send relief in the form of medicine, doctors and financial aid.

Military cooperation

On August 31, 2021

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, and

signed the Tripartite Defence Cooperation Program. The Program sees all three militaries conduct joint training exercises, sharing of expertise and promoting military cooperation between the three countries.

Accession of Armenia in the European Union

Cyprus is openly advocating the accession of Armenia in the

in the shortest period of time. Referring to the EU Armenia relations, President Demetris Christofias pledged that Nicosia will continue supporting actively the further enhancement of this relationship, indicating a full membership candidate status for Armenia in the nearest future. Cyprus, he said, is the firmest supporter and friend of Armenia in the EU.

References

External links

Artsakank Armenian monthly and online publicationEnglish language section

Armenian National Committee of Cyprus websiteEnglish language section

AGBU Cyprus site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armenia-Cyprus relations

Bilateral relations of Cyprus