Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Cypriot President Anastasiades' recent visit to Moscow and his indication that Russian military basing facilities may be made available in Cyprus, what they now consider may be the strategic impact of the Prime Minister’s agreement made during President Anastasiades' visit to the United Kingdom in January 2014 regarding a right of development within the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Base Areas.

We have been, and remain, in frequent discussions with the Republic of Cyprus about security and defence matters, and have been briefed on the agreements signed in Moscow. It is our understanding that the defence and security aspects of these formalise arrangements already in place. President Anastasiades has also explicitly ruled out the use of Limassol port for military purposes.

The visit of President Anastasiades to London in January 2014, and the arrangement on Non Military Development (NMD) reaffirmed the strong bonds of friendship and partnership which exist between Cyprus and the UK across many areas, notably defence, security, EU reform, and foreign policy cooperation. NMD is a further measure of normalisation of administrative planning rules, and shows that the UK and Cyprus are serious about working together on our shared interests.