The Russian invasion of Ukraine and American Responses: Implications for U.S. foreign policy in Cyprus and Greece

It’s about standing for what we believe in, for the future that we want for our world, for liberty, the right of countless countries to choose their own destiny.

• Antonis Antoniou *

And the right of people to determine their own futures or the principle that a country can’t change its neighbor’s borders by force,” Biden said (ABC News, Feb. 20, 2022, Remarks by President Biden Feb. 15, East Room).

At a White House briefing on February 22, President Biden once again stressed the importance of the rule of law and the right of states to maintain their territorial integrity.

“Who in the Lord’s name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belonged to his neighbors? This is a flagrant violation of international law, and it demands a firm response from the international community,” Biden added.

In an interview with Fox News on February 20, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed “the importance of maintaining a rules-based international order.” “No one country should be able to dictate to another country what it can choose to do in terms of who it aligns itself with, or no one country should be able to redefine another country’s boundaries at will,” he stated.

In his speech to the U.N. Security Council on February 17 on Russia’s threat to peace in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also stressed the importance of the rule of law.

“The stakes go far beyond Ukraine,” he said.

“This is a moment of peril for millions of people, as well as for the foundation of the United Nations Charter and the rules-based international order that preserves stability worldwide. This crisis directly affects every member of this council and every country in the world. The basic principles that sustain peace and security—enshrined in the wake of two world wars and a Cold War — are under threat. The principle that one country cannot change the borders of another by force; that one country cannot dictate another’s choices or policies or with whom it will associate. The principle of national sovereignty.”

To its credit, the Biden administration sees a world order based on rules and laws that maintain peace and stability as a supreme American interest. Indeed, this is the right path to achieve justice and peace. Biden’s apparent focus on international norms significantly departs from Kissinger’s corrupt, criminal approach that dominated U.S. foreign policy and thinking for decades. For Kissinger, a man many scholars consider a war criminal, there was “no American reason why the Turks should not have one-third of Cyprus.”

Biden’s view is also very different from that of former President Trump, who has become a cheerleader for Putin and his invading Russian forces as they inflict death, pain, and destruction on the people of Ukraine. To call Putin’s invasion a “genius” move and coin him a “peacekeeper” and his army a “peace force,” as the former U.S. president did, is absurd.

Sadly, Kissinger’s thinking is still prevalent in many circles in the United States. Decades of teaching and brainwashing our children that small powerless states do not matter, that the strongest survive, and that we laugh at those who believe in international law have had their effect and are unlikely to disappear soon.

But given President Biden’s stance on international security and the rule of law, how should we expect the United States to act in Cyprus and Greece?

In the summer of 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus and committed gruesome crimes. The Turkish army killed close to six thousand Greek-Cypriots, raped women and children, tortured innocent civilians, and ethnically cleansed northern Cyprus. The Turks forced close to two hundred thousand Greek Cypriots to abandon their homes and properties and move to the south. Then they brought the Turkish-Cypriots who made up 18% of the population and lived scattered throughout the island and settlers from mainland Turkey to northern Cyprus; and in 1983, declared their state the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” The international community, and the West, led by the United States, refused to recognize the secessionist state.

Given Biden’s powerful reaction against Russia in Ukraine and his firm commitment to the rule of law, we should be confident that the United States will not recognize the pseudo-Turkish state in Cyprus. Or allow the Turks to partition the island, as they constantly threaten and blackmail the Greek Cypriots. Nor should we expect the Biden administration to tolerate a Turkish takeover of the entire island.

The autocratic Turkish regime also threatens Greece, a critical American ally in the eastern Mediterranean and NATO and EU member, with a war in the Aegean. It is disputing Greece’s sovereignty over the Greek islands. Threatening another country with war is a violation of the U.N. Charter. The U.N. Charter forbids the use of force and the threat of the use of force.

A Department of State spokesperson rejected Turkey’s claims. “The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected and protected. Greece’s sovereignty over the islands is unquestionable,” he explained.

The United States Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt, confirmed Washington’s position. “I affirmed what Washington has made clear: The sovereignty of Greece over these islands is not in question.”

Here, too, the American reaction is not surprising given Biden’s emphasis on international law evident in his handling of the Ukraine war.

IN GREECE OR CYPRUS, a U.S. departure from this approach is unlikely.

It would contradict President Biden’s own words and inflict irreparable damage to America’s credibility. It would signal that the Biden administration is not serious about employing international law to maintain peace. Not only that, but it would suggest the United States does not apply the law consistently.

But the U.S. government needs to go beyond this. The Biden administration must demand that the Turks withdraw their occupying forces and settlers from Cyprus to be credible. As Gene Rossides (2014) wrote:

“Toleration of Turkey’s occupation of 37.3 percent of Cyprus weakens the legal, moral, political, and diplomatic positions of the United States in the Middle East and throughout the world.”

The rule of law must apply equally to our friends and foes to be credible. President Eisenhower said in 1956: “There can be no peace without law, and there can be no law if we were to invoke one code of international conduct for those who oppose us and another for our friends.”

The Biden administration and NATO cannot treat the Turkish invaders and occupiers of northern Cyprus differently from the Russian invaders of Ukraine if they want the world to believe that the White House and the West are genuinely committed to the rule of law.

Liz Truss, the British foreign secretary, told Sky News that “if the Russians are serious about negotiations, they need to remove their troops from Ukraine. They cannot negotiate with a gun to the head of the Ukrainians.” What Truss is rejecting in Ukraine is precisely what the British have allowed the Turks to do to the Greek Cypriots for over four decades now.

Under no circumstances should Washington cave into Erdoğan’s demands and give Turkey the F-16 air fighter jets. The United States expelled Turkey, a proven unreliable U.S. ally, in 2019 from the F-35 air-fighter program because it bought the Russian S-400 missile system and now wants F-16s. Turkey will not use the F-16s for its defense, as required by American laws, but harass‌ Cyprus, Greece, and depending on Ankara’s mood, Israel; bombard and kill Kurds and other small neighbors.

If history is any indicator, neither will Turkey use the American fighter jets to defend the West. The Turks fought against the United States and its allies during World War I, and they collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. Although a NATO member, Turkey played the West against the East and milked both sides during the Cold War.

Currently, Turkey is considering Russia as a “friend” and opposes sanctions against the Kremlin, a position that has set Turkey apart from Greece and other NATO countries that have already taken such measures (Reuters, Feb. 25).

Finally, the war in Ukraine showed how important it is for the West not to depend on Russia for its energy needs.

The Biden administration must seriously think to reconsider its position on the EastMed pipeline.

• The writer is a social science educator in New York City who, among other interests, researches political and security issues in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean, areas in which he did doctoral studies.