UK premier holds talks with Greek Cypriot Administration president during 1st visit in more than 50 years

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday met with Nikos Christodoulides, the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration, to discuss bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues.

On the island, Starmer became the first UK premier to pay a bilateral visit to the Greek Cypriot Administration in more than 50 years, according to a statement by his office.

During the meeting, Starmer and Christodoulides discussed various issues, including clean energy, trade, investment, defense, security, and migration.

The statement said that they agreed to advance opportunities through a "new strategic partnership" set to be also addressed by officials at a bilateral strategic dialogue in Britain next week.

On the situation in Syria, the leaders discussed the importance of transforming the hope offered by the end of Bashar Assad’s brutal regime into a long-term, political solution for peace.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus early Sunday, signaling the collapse of the Baath Party regime, which had been in power in Syria since 1963.

On the Russia-Ukraine war, Starmer also stressed the "importance of putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position" through the winter, perhaps alluding to the second Donald Trump presidency, set to begin on Jan. 20, when US aid to Ukraine is widely expected to be reduced or cut off entirely.

Starmer also said that the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia was a further reflection of President Vladimir Putin’s "chilling disregard for human life."

- Decades-long struggle

Starmer said he wanted to see an enduring end to the dispute on the island of Cyprus, according to the statement.

He also visited the Royal Air Force base on the island where he addressed troops on Tuesday.

His trip comes as part of a regional tour as he also held talks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates before traveling to the Greek Cypriot Administration.

For decades, the island of Cyprus has been mired in a dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot Administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus based on sovereign equality and equal international status.