Armenia appoints military attaché to Cyprus to boost defense ties

The Cabinet approved on Thursday the proposal by the Defense Ministry to appoint a military attaché to Cyprus.

The Cabinet decided that the military attaché of Armenia to Greece will concurrently serve as military attaché to Cyprus. Lt. Colonel Armen Mirzabekyan currently holds the position.

The Defense Ministry said in the substantiation that the friendly relations and mutual trust between Armenia and Cyprus are based on shared values and approaches, and possess significant prospects for further development.

“The two defense ministries are deepening cooperation not only in the areas of democratic values, human rights, governance, and the rule of law, but also in instructor training, peacekeeping, the protection of the rights of female service members, and civilian oversight of the armed forces. Relatively new areas of cooperation include the exchange of experience in internal audit and the implementation of anti-corruption mechanisms, as well as regularly held defense-strategic and political-military consultations,” the justification states.

Cooperation with the Cypriot side also includes regular bilateral political-military consultations in the field of security and defense, as well as the development of military cooperation within existing programs and the exploration of new areas of cooperation of mutual interest — particularly in military education, professional NCO corps development, personnel combat readiness, military medicine, the exchange of expertise in various specialized areas, as well as the possibility of joint participation in international peacekeeping missions and other programs.

“The friendly relations between Armenia and Cyprus, as well as the cooperation between the two countries, are carried out mainly within the bilateral Armenia–Cyprus and the trilateral Armenia–Greece–Cyprus cooperation formats. Nevertheless, the two countries have significant potential and prospects for further developing relations in the field of defense, as well as in the military-technical sphere.

Therefore, the friendly and respectful relations established between the two countries serve as a solid basis for expanding Armenian-Cypriot cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally. The considerable potential for cooperation in the military field, along with the strong interest recently expressed by the Cypriot side in deepening cooperation, has prompted the decision to appoint a Defense Attaché of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of Cyprus.

The presence of a Defense Attaché in Cyprus will contribute to the further development of cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense and will give new impetus to the implementation of joint activities in the defense sector. The presence of a Defense Attaché will ensure the elevation of relations in the defense sphere to a higher level of partnership,” the Defense Ministry said.