Cyprus

Tobias Ellwood Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Tobias Ellwood)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Streeter. I begin as others did by saying how grateful I am to my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate (Mr Burrowes) for initiating this timely debate on the future of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem. I am also grateful for the valuable contributions from hon. Members.

Hon. Members will note that I am here, rather than my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe. He sends his apologies, but he is in Hungary at the moment. Although this is not my portfolio, Cyprus is a country that I am familiar with, having served there as an officer in the 1990s with the 1st Battalion the Royal Green Jackets. It is an incredible island, and it was a pleasure and honour to serve there and travel the island extensively. I would probably have taken more notes had I known that one day I might be speaking on the subject. I was based in Larnaca and am familiar with Akrotiri, Episkopi, Paphos—the birthplace of Aphrodite—Famagusta and the amazing monastery in Bellapais. Restrictions on travel were severe then, and it was difficult to move backwards and forwards. It is good to see that there have been some advances since the days when I served there and that the key industries that Britain is involved in—tourism and banking, which has been mentioned—are in a good position, as are our strategic role, through which we play an important part, as I shall mention later, and our links with the diasporas in the UK.

My hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate has had a long and active interest in promoting the case for a solution, and I thank him for his efforts. I also pay tribute to the British Cypriots of all backgrounds who have done so much to promote ties between the UK and Cyprus. This debate comes as we reflect on the difficult events of 40 years ago. Although it is important to understand the past, as hon. Members have said, it is vital that we look ahead to the new hope for the reunification of Cyprus. A settlement would help Cypriots take full advantage of the economic, political and security opportunities of their region, not least the mineral opportunities mentioned by the Opposition spokesman.

I can assure hon. Members that this Government will continue actively to support the efforts under way to reach a lasting solution. Indeed, our diplomatic activity continues apace. My right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe invited both chief negotiators to London in June. Last Friday, at the NATO summit, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised the issue of Cyprus with the Turkish Foreign Minister.

The UK’s efforts are in full support of the UN’s leading role in facilitating the talks. Like others, I warmly welcome the appointment as UN special adviser of Espen Barth Eide, who will bring a wealth of skill and experience to that important position. As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe said when they spoke on 28 August, we hope that Mr Eide will soon help the parties to accelerate progress on the substantive negotiations.

The prospects for a lasting solution are promising, even if progress is less apparent or rapid than either community would like. The two communities and, just as importantly, Turkey are showing the right ambition to reach a settlement. The UK and Greece—the two other guarantor powers—are also fully supportive of the UN’s efforts to encourage the parties to work further forward.

I should now like to turn to some of the specific points that have been raised, and I hope that hon. Members will allow me to focus on those raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate. If I am unable to do so in the limited time available, I or my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe will do our best to reply in writing.

I recognise that at a different time more of our colleagues might be here. This is an interesting week in politics and some hon. Members are in different parts of the country. I am sorry that my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Dr Offord) is not here and that he is undergoing surgery. We wish him well.

I pay tribute, as my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate has done, to the late hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton, Jim Dobbin. This is the first opportunity I have had to do so. He was certainly a man of great principle and integrity, and he will be missed on both sides of the House.

Reference was made to the Committee on Missing Persons. The UK fully supports its work whereby communal teams undertake painstaking and sensitive work. So far, more than 571 individuals have been identified and returned to their families. We recognise the anguish suffered by families of the missing people from both communities, and we encourage parties to help the CMP to accelerate its work, which becomes more challenging as the years pass. Since 2006, we have donated more than $220,000, and bilateral EU funding, which comes partly from UK contributions, totalled $15.3 million from 2006 to 2013. We stand ready to consider further requests for funding from the committee if they are forthcoming.

[Jim Shannon]

In Northern Ireland and in the Republic, we have had specific attempts to try to find people who have disappeared. Has the Minister considered giving help with equipment because advanced equipment is available to find bodies that have been buried for many years and perhaps that could provide an advantage?

[Mr Ellwood]

I am grateful for that intervention, and I am aware of initiatives in Northern Ireland, having also served there. I am not aware of any such equipment, but I will ask my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe to write to the hon. Gentleman. It is an interesting thought.

The UK will continue to urge all those in control of such areas, including the Turkish military, to co-operate fully with the committee and allow it to accelerate its vital work.

Sovereign base areas are pivotal to Britain’s strategic interest in the region, as has been said many times on the Floor of the House, and that applies not just recently in relation to the humanitarian aid drops that are taking place in Iraq at the moment. Cyprus is an important staging post and location for our military: the Army, Air Force and Royal Navy. The hon. Member for Harrow West (Mr Thomas) mentioned Operation Tosca, which, sadly, is one of the longest running UN operations and polices the green zone. It is hoped that it can be wrapped up in the near future if the final agreement can be made. I am pleased that Britain has been a long-term contributor to that operation.

My hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate also mentioned Turkey’s role in the current negotiations. It remains an important part of reaching a solution and I welcome Ankara’s strong support for a settlement. We regularly discuss Cyprus with our Turkish counterparts, including at ministerial level, and we encourage Turkey to maintain its constructive engagement to make this round of talks successful. One example is the visits of the two negotiators to Athens and Ankara, and it would be useful to repeat them in the near future.

Turkey remains committed to supporting international efforts to solve the Cyprus problem. We do not believe that its support has been affected by the recent elections. We are aware of the remarks by President Erdogan on 1 September. The UK continues to support the UN-chaired negotiations to reach a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement on the basis of the relevant Security Council resolutions.

On EU involvement, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Field) referred, the EU has an important technical role to play—he is familiar with it—in providing advice on the EU acquis and technical assistance to help to implement the settlement. We welcome the work being done under the EU financial aid regulation aimed at bringing Turkish Cypriots closer to EU standards. However, the UN rightly remains the lead in chairing talks and facilitating the process. The EU has said that all parties will have to agree to an upgraded role. We recognise that Cyprus is a member of the EU, but the talks take place between two communities with equal status. The UN has led international efforts since 1964 and both sides will have to agree to any change in modalities.

My hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate and others referred to Famagusta, which I visited not too long ago. Sadly, it is not the place it used to be, but we fully support UN resolutions 550 and 789, and have also raised the issue with Turkey. We understand that this is important for many Cypriots, which is why so many efforts have been made over decades for a package deal, unfortunately without success. Varosha, as part of Famagusta is known, is best addressed as part of a comprehensive settlement, given the myriad complexities, and we welcome the work of civil society, such as the bi-communal Famagusta initiative, in preparing the way.

Hon. Members also referred to religious freedom. My hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate noted that some of the challenges faced by religious groups in Cyprus were caused in no small part by the political situation. We recognise the constraints, which my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe discussed with the Cypriot archbishop in May, and we also discussed such matters with the Turkish Cypriot community. More can be done, but we are pleased that progress has been made in recent years on religious services in both churches and mosques, on mutual understanding and on cultural heritage.

Flights were mentioned. The UK Court of Appeal has confirmed that direct flights from the UK to the northern part of Cyprus would breach obligations under international law. The court found that it is for the Republic of Cyprus to determine which airports are open for international traffic and as a result no airlines are licensed to operate flights from the UK direct to north Cyprus.

In conclusion, this debate has underlined the warmth of the ties between the UK and Cyprus and shown how it is in the UK’s national interest to help the Cypriots to reach a lasting settlement. No one should underestimate the scale of the challenges ahead, but the Government firmly believe that a solution that meets the fundamental concerns of both communities is possible and that there has been no better time to achieve it. The parties have stated their willingness to reach a deal and we urge both sides to seize this opportunity. Cypriots of both communities want to live and prosper together in peace. As they strive for a lasting solution, we will continue our active support in Cyprus, Ankara, Athens, New York, Brussels and beyond. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield, Southgate for securing this debate and giving us the opportunity to discuss these important issues.