The President of Cyprus has suggested he is going to have an “open and frank discussion” with Westminster over the future of British bases on the island.
President Nikos Christodoulides had previously suggested the presence of British bases in Cyprus are something that is a “colonial consequence” following protests from Cypriots.
An Iranian drone struck RAF Akrotiri on Sunday, hitting a hangar typically housing US surveillance aircraft.
Speaking at this week’s European Council summit in Brussels, President Christodoulides said: “The British bases in Cyprus are something that is a colonial consequence…We have more than 10,000 Cypriot citizens within the British bases.
“We have a responsibility to those people, and when the situation in the Middle East, we are going to have an open and frank discussion with the British government.”
When pressed if he wishes for the bases to be “gone”, he said: “We have a clear approach with regard to the future of the British bases.”
He added: “I am sure that you understand that I am not going to negotiate in public”.
The main opposition party in Cyrpus, Akel, has demanded the bases to be closed down, with leader Stefanos Stefanou telling local media: “The challenge now is to make it clear at every opportunity that Cyprus is not and does not want to become a war base”.
Liberal Democrat MP Al Pinkerton had pressed John Healey about the issue in the Commons, asking the Defence Secretary: “There has been growing disquiet within Cyprus, within the Cypriot community, about the continuing existence of the sovereign base areas.
“Given the absolute necessity of this defence relationship between the United Kingdom and Cyprus, could the minister update the House about the Secretary of State’s visit to Cyprus earlier this month?”
Mr Healey responded saying: “Our sovereign base in Cyprus isn’t in question. When the Secretary of State for Defence visited Cyprus, the Cypriot National Guard reaffirmed that our relationship is closer now than ever before.”
