Funds for US contributions to international peacekeeping, including UNFICYP, will increase by $472,400,000, according to the State Department`s proposed budget for 2022.
The budget was submitted to Congress on Friday and provides $ 1.9 billion to fund peacekeeping operations, as well as $ 300 million in arrears over the past four years.
For UNFICYP, $15,735,000 will be budgeted for 2022 (5,828 more than in 2021). In 2020, $8,722,000 had been allocated.
In the relevant explanatory report for UNFICYP, the text of the State Department budget states that ” UNFICYP (Cyprus)will continue to maintain the stability necessary for the re-start of UN facilitated, Cypriot-led settlement talks, the aim of which is the reunification of Cyprus under the UN Security Council-approved framework of a bizonal, bicommunal, federation”.
It is added that the mission serves U.S. national security priorities by preserving peace in the eastern Mediterranean and reducing the likelihood of a broader regional conflict involving NATO allies Greece and Turkey.
The 2022 budget also includes the amount of half a million dollars for the training of Cypriot soldiers through the US International Military Training Program (IMET), based on the relevant provisions of the Law on the Eastern Mediterranean. The corresponding amount for Greece amounts to one million.
