Britain committed to helping Cypriots find lasting peace

Prospects for the upcoming UN-led meeting on Cyprus settlement will be the main focus of British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s first official visit to Cyprus, where he will meet the president and foreign minister of the Republic of Cyprus, and the Turkish Cypriot leader.

Raab, will arrive in Cyprus on Thursday, the British High Commission said in a statement.

In the first such visit to the island since 2016, Raab is expected to  reiterate the UK’s support for achieving a just and lasting settlement of the division of the island and reaffirm his country’s commitment to the bilateral relationship during talks with President Nicos Anastasiades.

“The UK and Cyprus have deep, historic ties, spanning education, defence, trade and – most importantly – our people. The UK is committed to supporting our friends in Cyprus in the pursuit of lasting peace in this region,” Raab said ahead of the trip.

“We will be working closely with our Cypriot partners to drive forward a successful resolution to the conflict in Cyprus at UN talks in the next few weeks.”

The foreign secretary will also meet Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar to emphasise the UK’s commitment to supporting all the island’s leaders in their efforts to negotiate a settlement.

He will also visit British personnel serving with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (Unficyp) at their base in the Ledra Palace Hotel in the UN Buffer Zone.

Raab will meet the head of Unficyp and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, Elizabeth Spehar, to discuss the upcoming UN-led talks.

The UN is planning to host President Anastasiades, Turkish Cypriot leader Tatar and Government officials from the three guarantor powers of Cyprus (UK, Greece, Turkey) for talks in the next few weeks.