UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will visit Cyprus early this week for talks with President Nikos Christodoulides and to meet British troops stationed on the island for Christmas, in what has been described as a “historic” visit.Starmer, arriving Monday evening, will hold meetings on Tuesday after stops in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to bolster ties on investment, defence, and security. Discussions with President Christodoulides are expected to focus on enhancing security cooperation in the region, along with issues such as the Cyprus problem and deepening bilateral relations in areas including defence, trade, education, and investment.
This will be the first official bilateral visit by a British Prime Minister to Cyprus since Ted Heath’s trip 53 years ago in 1971. Previous visits, such as John Major’s in 1993, were for Commonwealth summits.
The trip has drawn mixed reactions. The Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s office expressed dissatisfaction over a lack of prior notification, urging the UK to treat both communities equally and to meet Tatar during the visit. The statement called on the UK to uphold its role as a guarantor power impartially, especially with broader talks on Cyprus under UN auspices on the horizon.
Meanwhile, senior Conservative opposition figures in Britain have raised concerns over the future of the UK’s sovereign bases in Cyprus. Shadow Defence Minister Mark Francois and Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel urged Starmer to assure that the bases would not be relinquished, citing the controversial handover of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The bases have been a point of contention, with growing calls within Cyprus for the lands to be returned to Cypriot control.
The UK National Federation of Cypriots welcomed Starmer’s upcoming visit, describing it as a “major step forward” in strengthening bilateral ties.
In Cyprus