Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart on reducing the number of Turkish troops stationed in Cyprus.

The UK actively supports peace and stability in Cyprus as a leading troop contributor to United Nations Peacekeeping Force In Cyprus (UNFICYP) and through our support for the UN-led process to reach a comprehensive Cyprus Settlement. We believe this remains the best route to addressing the difficult issues of the status quo. In January, as penholder, we drafted United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2723 which strongly encouraged the parties to engage and consider new military confidence building measures. We do not routinely comment on the activities of non-UK personnel.