London, United Kingdom. Britain and Cyprus reaffirmed their close defence partnership following talks in London between UK Defence Secretary John Healey and Cyprus Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas. The meeting focused on shared security challenges, regional stability and strengthening bilateral defence cooperation.
Talks on security and defence cooperation
The meeting, held on Tuesday, included a reaffirmation by both sides of their commitment to continued collaboration.
Healey said it was an honour to host Palmas and described the defence relationship between the two countries as deep-rooted and strategically important.
“Britain and the Republic of Cyprus have a deep and historic defence partnership that supports stability and security in Europe and beyond,” Healey said.
“I’m proud of how our nations have worked together to help protect the island of Cyprus, defend allies and uphold regional stability.”
Middle East instability and the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas
The talks took place amid ongoing instability in the Middle East and followed recent close cooperation between the two countries, particularly through the UK’s Sovereign Base Areas at Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, Britain deployed significant military assets to the bases before the outbreak of the regional conflict in March and in the weeks that followed, including additional fighter jets, air defence systems, advanced radar, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, specialist counter-drone teams and hundreds of additional air defence personnel.
The two ministers also reviewed lessons learned from that period of cooperation.
Comments on bilateral relations and recent engagements
Palmas said bilateral relations between Cyprus and Britain were “good in general”, despite occasional disagreements.
The London meeting followed Healey’s visit to Cyprus in March, when he met Palmas and reiterated the UK’s support for Cyprus’ defence, and the third UK-Cyprus Strategic Dialogue held in Nicosia in December 2025, which renewed bilateral defence cooperation through joint military exercises and advanced training programmes.
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