UK foreign minister sidesteps question on Cyprus involvement in Israel conflict

British Foreign Minister David Lammy on Monday sidestepped a question put to him by an opposition MP regarding the country’s Akrotiri base’s potential involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Lammy was facing questions from British lawmakers following his announcement that the United Kingdom would suspend 30 of its 350 arms export licences to Israel in light of the ongoing conflict, with one MP, independent Jeremy Corbyn, raising the matter of the Akrotiri base.

“Will he also explain what role, legally or otherwise, Britain has played in overflying Gaza with surveillance aircraft, and explain the use of RAF Akrotiri as a staging post for aircraft going to Israel, which many people believe are carrying weapons to be used to bomb Gaza?” Corbyn asked.

Lammy’s response was to say that Corbyn is “informed on many aspects of these issues” and that for this reason, “he must know that our arms exports to Israel amount to about one per cent of its arms.

“In fact, the United States, Germany, and others are more engaged in selling arms to Israel, so when he asks about the effect, he can draw his own conclusions.”

He added that he was “very comfortable with the support that we give to Israel” and that he “will not comment on operational issues”.

Corbyn’s question came after it had been alleged that the UK had been using its Cyprus bases to support Israel’s operations in Gaza.

Website Declassified UK reported that unmarked United States military aircraft had been flying between Cyprus and Tel Aviv, raising the question over whether weaponry had been aboard those flights.

The British defence ministry had confirmed to the Cyprus Mail that US military aircraft had been landing at Akrotiri with permission but could not be drawn to comment on the flights’ purpose.

They had added that it is “standard practice” for the ministry to authorise requests from its allies to access the bases, but that they could not provide further information due to security reasons.

Meanwhile, Cyprus has twice been used as the UK’s launchpad for bombing raids in Yemen, with the UK raiding targets held by the Houthi movement, a Shia Islamist organisation allegedly backed by Iran which controls much of the west of Yemen.

Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis had said after the first round of strikes that the government is “in constant communication with the UK within the framework established in relation to the bases’ use.”

He also played down Cyprus’ involvement in the bombing, saying “what we must emphasise once again is that the Republic of Cyprus has no connection or involvement with the military operations.”

The bombing raids in Yemen had caused disquiet in some quarters in Cyprus, with hundreds marching to the Akrotiri base in January against what they described as the turning of Cyprus into an “aggressive launch pad”.