NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- The president of Cyprus says his administration is committed to expanding defense and security cooperation with the U.S. as his meeting with the American President Joe Biden last week charted a course for the "next ambitious steps" in bilateral relations that are currently at a "historic high." President Nikos Christodoulides told the Associated Press in an email response to a questionnaire Sunday that his government's "clear foreign policy orientation" has resulted in deepening the Cyprus-U.S. strategic partnership over the last 18 months in fields including law enforcement cooperation on countering money laundering and sanctions evasion.