{"id":484349,"date":"2026-03-19T17:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/484349\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T17:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:25:09","slug":"cypriot-president-demands-talks-with-uk-over-military-bases-branding-them-colonial-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/484349\/","title":{"rendered":"Cypriot president demands talks with UK over military bases \u2013 branding them \u2018colonial consequences\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The president of Cyprus has said he will have an \u201copen and frank discussion with the British government\u201d over the future of the UK military bases <\/a>located in Cyprus<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Nikos Christodoulides<\/a> described the bases as being a \u201ccolonial consequence\u201d and said the Cypriot government has a responsibility to the 10,000 citizens living within the bases amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East<\/a>. <\/p>\n

It comes after RAF Akrotiri<\/a>, a British military base in Cyprus, was hit by an unmanned drone strike at the start of the Iran<\/a> war, raising concerns that the bases could be a threat to the island\u2019s security.<\/p>\n

Speaking upon his arrival at the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, Mr Christodoulides said: \u201cThe British bases in Cyprus are something that is a colonial consequence \u2026 We have more than 10,000 Cypriot citizens within the British bases. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a responsibility to those people … we are going to have an open and frank discussion with the British government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether he wants rid of the bases, he said that \u201cwe have a clear approach with regard to the future of the British bases\u201d, adding, \u201cI am sure that you understand that I am not going to negotiate in public\u201d.<\/p>\n

His remarks came one day after he described the bases as a \u201ccolonial remnant\u201d. But he also insisted that cooperation between the British and Cypriot governments is \u201cextremely positive\u201d. <\/p>\n

It comes as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate, with gas prices soaring to a three-year high<\/a> on Thursday after attacks on energy sites in Iran and Qatar damaged a Shell plant and stoked fears about disruption to global supplies.<\/p>\n

Questions over the future of the Cypriot bases would pile pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who is already facing criticism over his decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. <\/p>\n

\"NikosNikos Christodoulides pictured at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

The archipelago is home to a key UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which will be leased back to the UK as part of the deal. <\/p>\n

In an attempt to shut down discussion over the Cyprus bases, defence minister Al Carns on Tuesday insisted their future is \u201cnot in question\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, Liberal Democrat MP Al Pinkerton asked defence minister Al Carns about the \u201cgrowing disquiet\u201d in Cyprus about the bases, after protests were staged in the country. <\/p>\n

He said: \u201cFollowing the drone attack at RAF Akrotiri<\/a> earlier this month, there has been growing disquiet within Cyprus, within the Cypriot community, about the continuing existence of the sovereign base areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the absolute necessity of this defence relationship between the United Kingdom and Cyprus, could the minister update the House about the Secretary of State\u2019s visit to Cyprus earlier this month?<\/p>\n

\u201cCould he also just say what reassurance does the Cypriot government need from us to ensure that not only is the base security safe, but also the future security of Cyprus is ensured?\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding, Mr Carns said: \u201cOur sovereign base in Cyprus isn\u2019t in question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Secretary of State for Defence visited Cyprus, the Cypriot National Guard reaffirmed that our relationship is closer now than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drone that attacked RAF Akrotiri was Iranian-made but launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to Cyprus\u2019s foreign minister Constantinos Kombos.<\/p>\n

\"RAFRAF Akrotiri was hit by an unmanned drone strike at the start of the Iran war (Reuters)<\/p>\n

The drone caused minimal damage and did not result in any casualties.<\/p>\n

Further drones were intercepted and the Ministry of Defence has temporarily moved families from the base.<\/p>\n

Mr Kombos told the BBC\u2019s Newsnight programme: \u201cRight now we have the British bases on the island. There are questions. There are issues. There are concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

The British bases in Cyprus were established as part of a negotiated independence deal in 1960 and are the UK military\u2019s main jumping-off point for operations in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Asked about Mr Christodoulides\u2019s comments, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson pointed to the remarks from the head of the national guard in Cyprus, who said military cooperation between the two countries has \u201cnever been closer\u201d. <\/p>\n

The spokesperson added: \u201cOur bases in Cyprus play a crucial role in supporting the safety of British citizens and our allies in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur jets in Cyprus are flying regular defensive missions alongside our allies to protect our people and our bases… and to bolster our defences in the region. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve deployed additional radar systems, air defence kit and cutting-edge F-35 jets and an additional 400 UK personnel who are directly supporting air defence activities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-484349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}