‘British possession of territory in Cyprus is a great mistake of history’

The United Kingdom’s continued possession of two sovereign base areas in Cyprus is “a great mistake of history”, Turkish Cypriot opposition political party deputy leader Asim Akansoy said on Tuesday, a day after the British Akrotiri air force base on the island was hit by a drone.

He told the Turkish Cypriot legislature that “a country’s fate cannot be determined by external interventions”, before going on to stress that the UK’s bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia “are not merely military bases, but are British sovereign territory”.