UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's historic visit to Cyprus underscores strengthened ties as the island aligns with the West, shedding its Russian-linked past. Talks focused on sanctions expertise, regional stability, and Britain's role as a guarantor of Cypriot independence.
Britain and Cyprus pledged on Tuesday to boost ties during a visit by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in an endorsement of the pro-west tilt the Mediterranean island has taken since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A former British colony, Cyprus has worked hard to shake off a reputation as a haven for Russian businesses and light-touch regulation, and is aligned with the west over Russia and amid growing turmoil in the Middle East.
Starmer, on a multi-day visit to the Middle East, was in Cyprus on Tuesday, the first visit of a British prime minister to the former colony since Edward Heath in 1971.
After a short welcoming ceremony, Starmer told Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides he felt privileged to be there.
Christodoulides was received at the White House earlier this year in a first by a Cypriot president in almost three decades.
Britain has offered expertise for the island to create a sanctions unit, which was a focus of discussions. It still plays a role in Cypriot affairs as one of three guarantor powers of Cypriot independence, along with Turkey and Greece.
Starmer visited service personnel and families at RAF Akrotiri, a British military base on the southern coast.
Tuesday's visit drew criticism from breakaway North Cyprus, a statelet recognised only by Ankara, for ignoring the Turkish Cypriots as the other main party in the Cyprus conflict.
Read next
01:25
On Friday, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy held a phone call to discuss efforts to end the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, according to diplomatic sources.
19:39
World News
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned that Nigel Farage's economic plans would damage the British economy, calling them unrealistic and comparing them to the failed policies of former PM Liz Truss.
13:27
Tourists are being warned not to jam coins into the iconic Giant’s Causeway rocks as the practice is causing lasting damage to the 60-million-year-old formation.
11:58
UK responds to U.S.
The British government has responded to a U.S. court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, describing it as a domestic matter for Washington but emphasizing that the case remains in its early legal stages.
19:31
World News
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a stern warning to the UK on Wednesday saying nothing would be left to discuss if London demanded Tehran to cease its nuclear enrichment program.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment