Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office written question – answered at on 16 July 2025.
Saqib Bhatti
Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Cypriot counterparts on the status of the Sovereign Base Areas in (a) Akrotiri and (b) Dhekelia.
Saqib Bhatti
Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) Akrotiri and (b) Dhekelia Sovereign Base Areas on regional stability in the Middle East.
Saqib Bhatti
Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the Sovereign Base Areas in Akrotiri and Dhekalia.
Stephen Doughty
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Ministers have not discussed the status of the Sovereign Base Areas with counterparts from the Republic of Cyprus, which was secured by the 1960 Treaty of Establishment.
Ministers and officials however regularly engage with counterparts in the Republic of Cyprus regarding activities at the bases and regional security. For example, following the recent escalation between Israel and Iran, the Foreign Secretary and I have regularly spoken to our counterparts about regional stability, including the important contribution the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) make to the security of the region.
I also speak directly to the SBAs Administrator on a range of issues. The FCDO supports cooperation between the SBAs and the Republic of Cyprus, including on shared challenges such as forest fires, protecting the environment, crime and immigration. The FCDO also supports discussions on the implementation of the Protocol relating to the SBAs agreed between the UK and the EU, which entered into force on 1 February 2020.
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No0 people think not
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