Cyprus | United Kingdom |
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Foreign relations between Cyprus and the United Kingdom are positive. Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, after 82 years of British control; the two countries now enjoy warm relations, though the continuing British sovereignty of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus continues to divide Cypriots. The countries are both members of the United Nations and Commonwealth of Nations.
The United Kingdom has a High Commission in Nicosia and Cyprus has a High Commission in London. Irfan Siddiq is the current British High Commissioner to Cyprus, [1] whilst Andreas Kakouris is the current Cypriot High Commissioner to the UK. [2]
According to the results of a 2024 YouGov poll, 98% of British people who were asked about Cyprus had heard of it; 69% of these viewed Cyprus positively, while 26% remained neutral and the remaining 3% had a negative view. [3]
Under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli and Foreign Minister Lord Salisbury, Britain used its diplomatic prowess to obtain Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. Britain promised to use Cyprus as a base to protect the Ottoman Empire from Russia, according to the secret Cyprus Convention agreement. Instead of using the Army, the British set up a semi-military group called the Cyprus Military Police. Disraeli, leader of the Conservative party, was promoting British imperialism and expanding the British Empire. William Ewart Gladstone, leader of the opposition Liberal party, vehemently opposed the takeover as immoral, but he did not return the island. [4] [5]
The island served Britain as a key military base protecting the Suez Canal and especially the sea route to British India, which was then Britain's most important overseas possession. In 1906, a new harbour at Famagusta was completed, increasing the importance of Cyprus as a strategic naval outpost protecting the approaches to the Suez Canal. In 1914 in the First World War the Ottoman Empire and Britain went to war. On 5 November 1914 Britain annexed Cyprus, bringing an end to the convention.
Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, after 82 years of British control. The UK was also a signatory to a treaty with Greece and Turkey concerning the independence of Cyprus, the Treaty of Guarantee, which maintains that Britain is a "guarantor power" of the island's independence. [6]
For four years after Cypriot independence, the UK Government supported the Republic of Cyprus financially, under the 1960 Exchange of Notes on Financial Assistance to the Republic of Cyprus. [7] Among other items, that Exchange of Notes provided for payment of a total of £12,000,000 "by way of grant" (and not related to the bases), starting with £4,000,000 in 1961 and tapering down to £1,500,000 in March 1965, with provision for the UK Government to review the situation for each subsequent five-year period, in consultation with the Republic government, and "determine the amount of financial aid to be provided". After the intercommunal conflict of 1963–64 it stopped, claiming there was no guarantee that both communities would benefit equally from that money. The Cypriot government is still claiming money [ citation needed ] for the years from 1964 to now although to date has taken no international legal action to test the validity of its claim. Estimates for the claimed debt range from several hundred thousand to over €1,000,000,000.[ citation needed ].
In December 2024, Britain agreed to share intelligence with Cyprus to help prevent Russia from evading sanctions, following talks between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Nikos Christodoulides. This was the first visit by a UK prime minister to Cyprus in 53 years. The agreement involved British sanctions offices sharing information with Cyprus' Ministry of Finance to disrupt illicit financial flows and strengthen sanctions enforcement. The new unit in Cyprus will focus on tracking funds linked to sanctions evasion. [8]
The two countries share membership of the Commonwealth of Nations. At the moment, according to a 2011 estimate by Yiannis Papadakis, there are an estimated 270,000 Greek-Cypriots [9] living in the UK. Furthermore, a 2011 report by the Home Affairs Committee states that there are 300,000 Turkish-Cypriots [10] living in the UK. There are at least 50,000 British who reside in Cyprus, with most having their property in Paphos district. Current relations between Cyprus and the United Kingdom are considered excellent with high levels of cooperation on energy, diplomacy and education. On 16 January 2014 President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and British Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed the strong bonds of friendship and partnership between Cyprus and the UK, during a meeting at 10 Downing Street.
The continuing British sovereignty of the Akrotiri and Dhekelia Sovereign Base Areas has continued to divide Cypriots. Several Cypriot villages remain enclaved in the areas, and there have been numerous arrests of anti-British demonstrators over the past few years. These activists assert that the UK should not continue to hold territory in an EU state.
In January 2014, an agreement signed by Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and Foreign Secretary William Hague, in the presence of President Nicos Anastasiades, was made to lift the restrictions in developing properties within the British bases areas. The right of the owners to develop their land concerns 15 local administrative units, which make up 78% of the total area of the bases. The agreement lifted all restrictions about eligibility and the development of properties within the British Bases so that all regulations applied in the Republic of Cyprus will be valid within the Bases areas, as regards purchasing and developing properties by European or third country nationals. [11]
From 1 June 1973 until 1 May 2004, trade between Cyprus and the UK was governed by the Cyprus–European Communities Association Agreement, and then the Cyprus–European Union Association Agreement, while the United Kingdom was a member of the European Economic Community and the European Union. [12] Upon Cyprus's accession to the European Union, trade between Cyprus and the UK was governed through the European single market.
Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the EU and the UK signed a free trade agreement on 31 December 2020, due to the UK leaving the European single market; the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2021. [13] Trade value between the European Union and the United Kingdom was worth £823,100 million in 2023. [14]
The British are the main Western European immigrant group in Cyprus, currently numbering over 150,000, with Cyprus also being home to the largest British community in the Middle East by far. There are many notable British-Cypriots.
Cyprus has a unique legal system, which is a blend of British common law and Greek-Cypriot civil law. As a former British colony, many of its laws are influenced by British legislation, making it more familiar to those from the UK and other common law jurisdictions. [15]
Cyprus is a member of the United Nations along with most of its agencies as well as the Commonwealth of Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Council of Europe. In addition, the country has signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Agreement (MIGA). Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and in the second half of 2012 it held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island, where troops of the Republic of Turkey are deployed. This dispute is an example of a protracted social conflict. The Cyprus dispute stems from a Turkish military invasion of the island after a coup, and the presence of Turkish soldiers despite a legal reinstatement of a stable government. The desire of some of the ethnic Turkish peoples for the partition of the island of Cyprus through Taksim, and mainland Turkish nationalists settling in as a show of force as a supposed means of protecting their people from what they considered to be the threat of Greek Cypriots, also plays a role in the dispute.
The special territories of members of the European Economic Area (EEA) are the 32 special territories of EU member states and EFTA member states which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the European Union and the European Free Trade Association.
Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territory on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and installations that were formerly part of the Crown colony of Cyprus, were retained by the British under the 1960 treaty of independence signed by the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey and representatives from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. The territory serves as a station for signals intelligence and is thereby part of the United Kingdom's surveillance-gathering work in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Cyprus was part of the British Empire, under military occupation from 1914 to 1925, and a Crown colony from 1925 to 1960. Cyprus became an independent nation in 1960.
Nicos Anastasiades is a Cypriot politician and businessperson, who served as the seventh president of Cyprus from 2013 to 2023. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally between 1997 and 2013 and served as Member of Parliament from Limassol between 1981 and 2013.
Greek–British relations are foreign relations between Greece and the United Kingdom. Greece and the United Kingdom maintain excellent and cordial relations and consider each other an ally with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, paying an official visit to London in 2021. Greece and the United Kingdom are both members of the United Nations, NATO and the Council of Europe.
Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey, a country which facilitates many of its contacts with the international community. After it was occupied by Turkey, Northern Cyprus' relations with the rest of the world were further complicated by a series of United Nations resolutions which declared its independence legally invalid. A 2004 UN Referendum on settling the Cyprus dispute was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots but rejected by the Greek Cypriots. After that, the European Union declared its intentions to assist in reducing the economic isolation of Northern Cyprus and began giving aid to the territory. However, due to pressure from Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, this aid coming from EU funds cannot be used on Greek Cypriot land and property nor on public bodies. As a result, these funds can be used only on 29 percent of people on the island of Cyprus.
The Treaty of Guarantee is a treaty between Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom that was promulgated on 16 August 1960.
Relations between Cyprus and the United States can be described as excellent, both sharing membership in the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. Cyprus has been an observer to the Organization of American States. Cypriots view the United States as their second most trusted ally after France with 62% considering the U.S. a desired ally.
Cypriot nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Cyprus. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Republic of Cyprus Citizenship Law, 1967, which came into force on 28 July 1967. Regulations apply to the entire island of Cyprus, which includes the Republic of Cyprus itself and Northern Cyprus, a breakaway region that is diplomatically recognised only by Turkey as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The relations between Turkey and the United Kingdom have a long history. The countries have been at war several times, such as within the First World War. They have also been allied several times, such as in the Crimean War. Turkey has an embassy in London, while the United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Ankara and a consulate in Istanbul.
Being part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the foreign relations of Faroe Islands are handled in cooperation with the Danish government and Government of Faroe Islands.
Egypt–Greece relations refer to bilateral relations between Egypt and Greece. Due to the strong cultural and historical ties between the two nations, Egypt and Greece today enjoy friendly relations. Modern diplomatic relations between the two countries were established after Greece gained its independence in 1830, and are today regarded as cordial. Both countries are members and partners in several international organizations such as the UN, IMF, OSCE, and the Union for the Mediterranean.
Cyprus–Germany relations are the bilateral relations between Cyprus and Germany. Germany is represented in Cyprus through its embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus is represented in Germany through its embassy in Berlin, Germany. Both countries are members of the European Union, Council of Europe and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
British Cyprus was the island of Cyprus under the dominion of the British Empire, administered sequentially from 1878 to 1914 as a British protectorate, from 1914 to 1925 as a unilaterally annexed military occupation, and from 1925 to 1960 as a Crown colony. Following the London and Zürich Agreements of 19 February 1959, Cyprus became an independent republic on 16 August 1960.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Akrotiri and Dhekelia since 3 June 2014. An Order in Council to legalise same-sex marriages was approved by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom on 28 April 2014 and came into effect on 3 June. However, this only applies if one of the parties to the marriage is a member of the British Armed Forces. The order does not apply to the local civil population residing in Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Military personnel have also been able to enter into civil partnerships since 2005.
Cyprus is one of four European Union (EU) member states which is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the only one not to participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. The others are Austria, Ireland and Malta.
The New Jersey–Cyprus National Guard Partnership is one of 25 European partnerships that make-up the U.S. European Command State Partnership Program and one of 88 worldwide partnerships that make-up the National Guard State Partnership Program
...it is estimated that up to 500,000 Greek-Cypriots live outside Cyprus, the major concentrations being in the United Kingdom (270,000), Australia, Greece, and the United States.
There are approximately 150,000 Turkish nationals in the UK at present, of a total of about 500,000 people of Turkish origin in the UK, including Cypriot Turks (about 300,000) and Turks with Bulgarian or Romanian citizenship.