Akrotiri and Dhekelia make up 98 sq miles (254 sq km) of Cyprus and are a significant source of employment.
“We have more than 10,000 Cypriot citizens within the British bases. We have responsibility for those people,” Christodoulides said.
Any potential negotiations on the future of the bases would be very complicated given the founding agreements involved the UK, Greece, Turkey as well as representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.
Asked if he wanted the bases to go, the Cypriot leader said: “We have a clear approach with regard to the future of the British bases… I’m not going to negotiate publicly.”
Responding to a BBC request for a response to the remarks, the UK’s Ministry of Defence highlighted Defence Secretary John Healey’s comments in Parliament last week, when he said Cyprus’s head of the National Guard had told him: “Our military co-operation has never been closer.”