Congress passed two bills Tuesday that will lend significant US support to Cyprus in its territorial and energy disputes with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Senate voted 86-8 Tuesday for a conditional lift on the US arms embargo for Cyprus as part of the annual defense authorization bill, which passed the House 377-48 last week. Hours later, the House passed a compromise foreign aid spending bill 297-120 that bolsters security aid for Cyprus while rebuking Turkey for its oil exploration activities off the Cypriot coast.