The president of Cyprus has called for an “open and frank discussion” about the future of Britain’s bases on the island once the crisis in the Middle East is over.
Speaking outside a meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday, Nikos Christodoulides said the two bases were a “colonial consequence” as he appeared to cast doubt on their future.
He told reporters: “When this situation is over in the Middle East, we are going to have an open and frank discussion with the British Government.”
Asked whether he wanted the bases gone, Mr Christodoulides said he wanted to discuss “the status and the future of the British bases” but would not “negotiate publicly”.
He said: “I’m not going to put my request publicly, but we need to have an open and frank discussion.
“The British bases in Cyprus are something that is a colonial consequence in the island.
“We have more than 10,000 Cypriot citizens within the British bases, we have a responsibility for these people.”
The UK’s two military bases in Cyprus, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, are British sovereign territory under a treaty signed on Cypriot independence in 1960.
Britain has used the bases to conduct operations in the Middle East, with RAF jets currently flying sorties from the island to protect against Iranian drones.
But relations with Cyprus appear to have been strained by the delay in sending a warship to defend the island against attack, following a drone strike at RAF Akrotiri earlier this month.
The destroyer HMS Dragon only set sail last week and has still not yet reached Cyprus.
The drone attack has raised concerns in Cyprus that the bases could be a threat to the island’s security, with protesters taking to the streets in recent days.
On Monday, armed forces minister Al Carns told the House of Commons that the sovereign bases were “not in question”.
On Thursday, Downing Street declined to say whether it would be open to talks on the future of the bases, saying the UK’s military co-operation with Cyprus “has never been closer”.
