Govt preparing ‘at all levels’ for negotiations over British bases’ future

The government us undertaking preparations “at all levels” for negotiations to take place with the United Kingdom over the future of the British bases in Cyprus, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Friday.

“At this time, what is important is that, in this period when a regional crisis is continuing, we are all contributing, to the extent which is appropriate to us, to the extent of our capabilities, on the one hand, to the de-escalation of this crisis, and on the other, to closer coordination between us,” he said.

He then said that “at the appropriate time and where and when there is something which can be announced, it will be announced”.

His comments come with the government having actively emboldened its rhetoric regarding the bases’ future in recent weeks after the Akrotiri airbase was hit by an Iranian-made drone earlier in the month.

Letymbiotis’ deputy, Yiannis Antoniou, had said on Tuesday that the government has sought and received legal advice regarding the treaty which established the bases, adding that “the issue of security is complex and will be the subject of discussion with the British side”.

The Treaty of Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus entered force in 1960, having been signed by the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities of the day Archbishop Makarios III and Dr Fazil Kucuk, who would go on to become the republic’s first president and vice president.

Its first article states that “the territory of the Republic of Cyprus shall comprise the island of Cyprus, together with the islands lying off its coast, with the exception of the two areas … which shall remain under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom” – the base areas in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

In a later article, the same treaty states that “the United Kingdom authorities shall have the right for United Kingdom military aircraft to fly in the airspace over the territory of the Republic of Cyprus without restriction other than to have due regard for the safety of other aircraft and the safety of life and property in the Republic of Cyprus”.

Last week, President Nikos Christodoulides had promised upon his arrival a European Council summit that “we are going to have an open and frank discussion with the British government” over the future of the bases. 

That summit then ended with the European Council declaring that it stands ready to assist” the Cypriot government in discussions regardingthe bases’ future and stating that it “acknowledges the intention of Cyprus to initiate a discussion with the UK” on the matter.

Christodoulides had earlier described the bases as a “colonial remnant”, though the British government appears thus far to be in no mood to discuss any change to their future.

The country’s parliamentary undersecretary of state for the armed forces Al Carns had earlier told the House of Commons that the bases’ future is “not in question”, and added that when the country’s Defence Secretary John Healey had visited the island, “the Cypriot national guard reaffirmed that our relationship is closer now than ever before”.