UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer assured President Nikos Christodoulides in a phone conversation on Saturday that the British Bases in Cyprus will not be used for any offensive military operations.
The phone call between the two leaders came a day after the UK gave the green light to the US to use its RAF Fairford base in England and the jointly-run US-UK Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean to carry out defensive strikes on Iranian military capabilities used to block passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
UK remains on the defensive
According to Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis, Starmer and Christodoulides had a “long” conversation discussing geopolitical developments in the wider region, during which Starmer said the security of the Republic of Cyprus is fundamental to the United Kingdom. To that end, “a decision has been taken to enhance the means contributing to the preventive measures already in place,” said Letymbiotis.
The British PM further reiterated that the British Bases in Cyprus will not be used for any offensive military operations.
This was echoed in a British readout of the call with Christodoulides by a spokesperson for Starmer’s office who said: "RAF Akrotiri would not be involved in the UK's continuation of its agreement with the US to use UK bases in collective self defence of the region."
Reuters quoted British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also saying on Saturday that the government's policy on the US-Israeli-war on Iran remained defensive.
“We will provide defensive support against these reckless Iranian threats, but we have not been and we continue not to be involved in offensive action and we want to see the swiftest possible resolution,” she said.
“We will not be drawn into a wider conflict,” she added.
At the same time, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that it has deployed around 500 additional personnel to Cyprus as part of efforts to strengthen security and defensive operations amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
The personnel are supporting ongoing air defence activities across the UK's bases in Cyprus.
What to do about the Bases
Regarding the British Bases in Cyprus, the government spokesperson further noted that Christodoulides proposed to Starmer to initiate a discussion on the issue – referring both to the challenges and lessons learned from the management of the crisis so far.
The Cypriot government had made its displeasure known after a drone likely from southern Lebanon landed on RAF Akrotiri, triggering an evacuation of the military base while leaving the Cypriot residents in the surrounding villages in the dark. The strike came just a few hours after Starmer had announced the UK’s decision to allow US use of its bases for defensive actions, such as taking out Iranian missile sites.
Cypriot officials behind closed doors and publicly called on the UK to finally take adequate protective measures to ensure the safety of Cypriot residents too and the island as a whole.
Christodoulides made it clear in comments to the media that when the time was right, a discussion needed to be had on the Bases in Cyprus, without going into detail as to what the intended outcome would be. He also secured mention of this intention in the conclusions of last week’s EU summit in Brussels where EU leaders said they “stand ready to provide assistance as needed”.
Cyprus wants greater coordination with UK
According to a report by Euractiv, diplomatic sources said Nicosia is seeking closer coordination with London regarding the British military bases on the island.
Nicosia’s goal is not to remove the British bases, but rather to push for greater coordination, they said.
“Cyprus must be informed, and there must be coordination regarding the use of the bases,” the sources said.
EU support
According to Euractiv, EU support on the issue is largely linked to the application of European law in specific legal areas within the British bases.
“It’s good that the EU is in the loop,” diplomatic sources told Euractiv.
How to end the crisis
Meanwhile, on the phone with Starmer, Christodoulides briefed the British PM on the EU summit in Brussels, and on his call to undertake a coordinated initiative, in cooperation with partners, to de-escalate the crisis, sparked by the US-Israeli attack on Iran. He stressed that leveraging multilateralism constitutes the primary diplomatic avenue for strengthening these efforts and for making a meaningful contribution to safeguarding stability, while actively supporting the countries of the region.
With this in mind, the president voiced Cyprus’ support to the further upgrading of the strategic cooperation between the EU and UK.
According to Letymbiotis, Starmer concurred and referred to the recent joint statement by the UK together with other countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, which confirmed the shared approach towards strengthening multilateralism and focusing on de-escalation.