U.S. officials told The Washington Times that they were laying the foundations for starting direct trade with northern Cyprus. According to officials, the U.S. sees easing the sanctions imposed on the Turkish Cypriots as the best way to reunify Cyprus and they provide direct aid to facilitate trade. The reports also noted that the U.S. government and U.S. companies are already working with the Turkish Cypriots to bring sanitary working conditions and the business practices of potential exporters up to world standards.

On a related note, Adam Ereli, U.S. state department spokesman, said that they were seeking to take measures to ease the economic isolation of northern Cyprus and they were taking a number of steps to this end.