Cyprus raises doubts about future of British bases on island after drone strike

Foreign minister wants ‘conversation’ about closing UK military sites following lack of warning of impending attack on RAF Akrotiri Cyprus’s foreign minister has said there are “questions” about the future of the UK’s military bases on the island after the drone strike last Sunday. The attack on RAF Akrotiri, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah in Lebanon, caused minimal damage and did not result in casualties. Further drones were intercepted and the Ministry of Defence temporarily moved families from the base. The attack has triggered a diplomatic fallout, with the Cypriot high commissioner to the UK, Kyriacos Kouros, saying the country was “disappointed” by Britain’s failure to warn people on the island of the impending strike. The Cypriot president, Nikos Christodoulides, openly criticised the failure to stop the drone attack. His spokesperson said last week: “All necessary steps will be taken to communicate our dissatisfaction, both with the way this message was communicated and the fact that yesterday there was no timely warning to citizens of Cyprus living near the Akrotiri bases.” The foreign minister, Constantinos Kombos, said on Friday there now needed to be a “co