Cyprus hits out at UK after drone attack on British base and refuses to rule out changing agreement
Cyprus has claimed that the British government’s poor communication caused a drone attack on the UK base in the country, dragging them into the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The government in Nicosia also refused to rule out renegotiating the use of RAF Akrotiri, one of two bases the British have maintained since the end of colonial rule of the island in 1960.
Government spokesperson for Cyprus, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, told reporters on Monday: “This is something that we must say we view with dissatisfaction… There was no clear clarification that the British bases in Cyprus would under no circumstances be used for any purpose other than humanitarian reasons in Sunday’s statement by the UK prime minister.”
A drone struck RAF Akrotiri shortly after midnight on Monday, causing minor material damage to an aircraft hangar. Another two drones were intercepted by British warplanes around midday on Monday after they were scrambled from the airbase.
Senior Cypriot officials say the attack was carried out by an Iranian Shahed drone, most likely fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah from Lebanon, although the source of the strike remains unconfirmed.
The officials have stressed that the base – considered sovereign British territory – rather than Cyprus, was the target. Cyprus has asked Britain that the bases only be used for humanitarian purposes.
Britain said on Sunday that it had accepted a US request to use its military bases for “defensive” strikes against Iran, a day after the launch of a US and Israeli military campaign against Iran, which triggered Iranian retaliation. Sir Keir Starmer later said the UK’s bases on Cyprus were not being used by US bombers.
According to Politico, Mr Letymbiotis said that Cyprus was making a formal diplomatic complaint, adding: “All necessary steps will be taken to communicate our dissatisfaction, both with the way this message was communicated and the fact that yesterday there was no timely warning to citizens of Cyprus living near the Akrotiri bases.”
Asked whether Cyprus will look to renegotiate the status of the bases, the spokesperson replied: “In this context, we are not ruling anything out.”
The semi-official Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said on Tuesday that France now plans to send anti-missile and anti-drone systems to Cyprus, an EU member, which currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency. It follows Greece’s offer of assistance on Monday.
The strike marked the first time a British base in Cyprus had been hit since Libyan militants launched a rocket attack in 1986.
The Independent has approached the UK government for comment.
