‘British bases in Cyprus cannot be seen as separate from the whole of the island’

With Greek and French forces already on and around the island amid the expanding Middle East hostilities, the least Cyprus would expect from the British was to already be present, Cyprus’ high commissioner to the UK Dr Kyriacos Kouros said on Wednesday, adding that the HMS Dragon would not be arriving for another week.

Kouros said it was obvious that the drone attack on Saturday night was a success, as it hit its target – the Akrotiri British air force base – a conflict the Republic of Cyprus did not want to be dragged into.

Speaking on Sky News, Kouros said the UK should keep in mind that there were thousands of Cypriots living in and around the bases and that 5 per cent of the population was British expats, and possibly the response should have been immediate.

“It was a very hectic three days. I had the president of Cyprus talking to your prime minister on Sunday and again yesterday [Tuesday]. I had the foreign minister and the foreign secretary of the two countries talking continuously and I even had the national security advisors talking among themselves on the situation in Cyprus,” he explained.

Regarding the fact that HMS Dragon would not be deployed to Cyprus for another week, Kouros said: “Dragon is welcome, it will take more than a week – I think – to arrive”.

“I hear that some Wildcat helicopters are en route also, and probably the defence secretary [John Healey] will be visiting the island,” Kouros added.

The high commissioner said this activity “shows there is the necessary engagement because of the seriousness of the situation”.

“At a glance somebody could say, ‘Well the crisis in the Middle East and in the whole region is something as usual’. No, it is not. It is the first time that we see the British bases hit directly, so there is a new development and this shows that coordination between my government and the British government has to be continuous, because Cyprus does not consider itself part of the conflict and we do not intend to become part of the conflict,” he stressed.

Asked if the two governments were indeed in continuous contact, Kouros said they were.

“At this stage we are. At the initial stage there was some lack of proper organisation but I think we are back on where we should have been from the start,” he said.

“The British people have to understand that the British bases in Cyprus cannot be seen as separate from the whole of the island.”

“There are Cypriots living in the British bases. The British bases are not just military installations. We are talking about less than 100 square miles of the island and there you have thousands of Cypriots living permanently. The British personnel are coming and going according to the duration of their terms, but the Cypriots are there and if you want to safeguard British interests, well, believe it or not, 5 per cent of the population of Cyprus are British expats, so how can you differentiate who you are protecting there in the island,” he wondered.

“That is why we are very adamant, we don’t want to be dragged into this conflict, we want coordination with the British government so that they do not take decisions that affect our lives and the lives of our people.”

“We worry a lot. Cyprus for the last 20 years is a humanitarian hub. Whenever there is a need for evacuation from the neighbourhood, we are the first to respond and we have the necessary mechanisms to do it successfully. We are also providing humanitarian aid in the region when circumstances dictate it. So, this is the purpose of Cyprus there, this is the best way Cyprus – and I am referring also to the British bases now – should respond to crises of this magnitude, because conflicts like these are not solved by force, they are solved by diplomacy,” he said.

Asked if he believed the UK had acted with sufficient urgency to protect the people living in and around the British bases, Kouros said that “at this stage the most important thing is to strengthen our capacity to defend ourselves from these new technology threats.”

“We have ourselves technologies capable to stop ballistic missile threats, but on the drones we need more and already we have the presence of Greek forces on the island, four aircraft arrived, all of them with abilities to combat drones. The French are coming, so the least we expect is the British to also be present since we are not only defending Cypriots on the island,” he said.

“It was obvious that the drone attack after midnight on Sunday was a success because it hit a target. So, they need to augment their capabilities and capacities, at least. I am not going to tell them how to do this, it is not my job.”

Kouros said that from the start he made Cyprus’ case clear to his interlocutors in London.

“We await results and I think we are on the right track this moment, because we don’t know what the future will bring. So, it’s best to be prepared, it’s best to strengthen our capacity to the extent possible so that we can avoid more accidents or even worse.”