Press Releases

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Christoudoulides, had a meeting today with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, at 10 Downing Street in London.

The meeting, which was held following an invitation of the British Prime Minister, is the first bilateral meeting between the two heads of government since the election of Sir Starmer as Prime Minister.

The relations between the Republic of Cyprus and the UK and their reinforcement, regional affairs and particularly the developments in the Middle East, were the main topics of discussion between Mr Christoudoulides and Sir Starmer.

In particular, Cyprus’s significant contribution in providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza through the maritime corridor initiative, “Amalthea”, was pointed out, as well as the National Plan HESTIA.

Moreover, President Christodoulides briefed Sir Starmer on the proceedings of the 11th Summit of the Southern EU Countries (MED9), held in Cyprus on the 11th of October 2024, with the participation of the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the President of the European Commission, during which the situation in the Middle East, as well as the actions that could be undertaken to de-escalate the crisis were extensively discussed.

During the meeting, the President of the Republic of Cyprus also had the opportunity to discuss with the Prime Minister of the UK the latest developments regarding the Cyprus problem, in view of the tripartite meeting with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mr Ersin Tatar and the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Mr António Guterres, on the 15th of October 20024, at the UN headquarters in New York.

In particular, the President of the Republic of Cyprus informed the British Prime Minister on the initiatives taken by the Republic of Cyprus, since the assumption of office by the present government towards the resumption of negotiations, as well as the outcome of the meeting between Mr Christodoulides with the UN Secretary-General at the UN General Assembly.

Welcoming President Christodoulides, the British Prime Minister stated: “It is my privilege to welcome you here. It is fantastic that we have got this opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest, and long and very important history between our two countries. Both at the country-to-country level, but also at the people-to-people level. We have a very proud community here and it gives great strength to us as a country.  So, on both of those fronts, country- to-country, people-to-people, you are very welcome. We have got some really good discussions to be had.”

For his part, the President of the Republic of Cyprus upon thanking the British Prime Minister for the invitation, in such a short period after assuming his duties, he stated: “My visit in London is important, is timely. I am very glad to be here, as you very correct mentioned, following our telephone conversation, our relationship, our partnership is invaluable. And that is a clear political win from our side to enhance even more these strategic partnerships. You know very well at the regional level we have serious challenges. We are concerned with the situation in the region. My country, Cyprus, is doing its utmost to send humanitarian assistance in Gaza, and thank you for your support and also, evacuating third-country nationals from the region. As we discussed before, I am flying from here to New York for a very important meeting with the UN Secretary-General, a meeting that I hope would pave the way for the resumption of talks and the solution of the Cyprus problem based on the UN security Council resolutions. You are own, as a guarantor power, a strategic partner, as the penholder in the Security Council, is of great importance, and I count on your support for ending the 50 years of division and occupation of my country. As you know, we have a huge Cypriot community in the UK. Actually, the biggest Cypriot city is in London. The majority of those people came in London following the 1974 Turkish invasion. So, we have a number of issues in our agenda, and I am looking forward to our deliberations. Once again, thank you.”

The tête-à-tête between the two leaders was followed by extended talks.

The President of the Republic of Cyprus is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Constantinos Kombos, the Government Spokesman, Mr Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Ms Marilena Raouna, and the Director of the President’s Diplomatic Office Mr Doros Venezis.

(MS/NZ)