British bases ‘under threat’ in Cyprus with fears ‘something cooking’ with hated Macron

Cyprus President reacts to being snubbed from Queen’s funeral A senior Turkish Cypriot politician has warned that “something is cooking” between the French and the Greek Cypriots in the south of the island which could spell danger for the UK bases. With Nikos Christodoulides recently elected President for the Republic of Cyprus there have been claims that he and Emmanuel Macron are forming a close relationship with the French President said to be looking at establishing a base on the island. One TRNC source has suggested that the French trying to muscle the UK “could be part of a Brexit revenge strategy”. Suspicion arose when Macron visited Cyprus in May. On a visit to the UK this week, Ersin Tatar, the President of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, which is only officially recognised by Turkey, raised concerns about the developments and said it was in contravention of previous agreements on the island. Turkish Cypriot have warned that a French military base on the island of Cyprus could be a pretext to an attempt to remove the UK bases which were established in 1960. To add to the confusion, the Foreign Office has had to deny reports that the British High Commissioner to Cyprus said that the 1960 agreement which established the bases on Cypriot independence is no longer recognised by the UK. Macron has ambitions to have a base on Cyprus it is claimed In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Mr Tatar warned the British Government: “You cannot pick and choose.” He meant that by trying to no longer recognise Turkish rights with the 1960 constitution the UK would also be ignoring its own rights to the two bases on the former colony which is now part of the Commonwealth. He said: “We know that there is something cooking [between the French and Greek Cypriots].” But he warned that any agreement should require all the guarantor powers including Britain, Turkey and Greece accepting a French base. He went on: “The British should be uncomfortable with that, since the British, because of the 1960 agreement, have two legal bases. “They [the Cypriots] should not be in a position as the one representative without the Turkey’s consent, without the guarantor power consent, that they should be engaging in such a military agreement with the French.” Ersin Tatar was the first leader met by Erdogan after his reelection SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Tatar said: “France’s establishment of a base in the Greek Cypriot administration and the US arming it constitute clear and unambiguous violations of Cyprus’ founding agreements.’ He added: ‘The Greek Cypriot administration still claims that they are the ‘Republic of Cyprus’ and argues that their founding agreements are valid. “Thus, on the legitimate ground of this agreement, it is impossible for France to come to the south and establish a base. From a legal point of view, France should not come and establish a naval base in the Greek Cypriot administration.’ Turkey’s recently re-elected President Recept Erdogan’s first visit after his victory was to the TRNC in a sign that he intends to make the Cyprus question a priority with his country and tatar’s government demanding a two state solution. But President Tatar claimed that he was disappointed with the British attitude. He said: “Things are getting worse, I could say. British Government is totally insensitive to the Turkish Cypriots. I don’t know what’s going on. “The new High Commissioner has come out with unprecedented statement about ‘a land grab [by Turkey]. “Usually the ambassadors are a little bit more careful not to irritate anybody, but he’s just talking. There are not receivers on there. I mean, why is he doing that?” Trending