London, United Kingdom. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the United Kingdom takes Cyprus’ security seriously during talks with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos at Whitehall on Wednesday. The ministers also discussed regional security, foreign policy and strengthening bilateral relations.
Security and regional issues
Cooper said she and Kombos had met in Brussels on Monday for the launch of the Palestine donor group. She added that she had contacted him to express “appalling shock and horror” after a Cypriot-flagged ship was hit by a missile while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
She said the events demonstrated how much the two countries had in common, the range of shared foreign policy issues they needed to discuss, and the importance the United Kingdom placed on Cyprus’ security and regional role.
EU presidency and bilateral links
Cooper congratulated the Cypriot government on its “very successful” six-month term holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
She said the bilateral relationship would be a central subject of the discussions, noting that 300,000 Cypriots live in the United Kingdom and 1.4 million Britons visit Cyprus each year. She referred to close people-to-people links and a commitment to deepening relations between the two countries.
Cyprus seeks stronger partnership
Kombos said the world was going through a difficult period in which transformation was taking place widely and countries were seeking to recalibrate their relationships.
He said the Republic of Cyprus had the ambition, will and intention to add more substance to its strategic partnership with the United Kingdom. This would include strengthening institutional frameworks and improving communication structures on security and other issues.
Kombos said Cyprus believed the two countries needed a comprehensive and meaningful dialogue on a range of matters, focused on finding answers and solutions rather than creating new problems.
He said Cyprus and the United Kingdom shared a long and sometimes complicated history, but that the modern approach should be to move forward positively through comprehensive, meaningful and results-oriented dialogue.