Starmer holds talks with Cypriot president in first PM visit since 1971

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Sir Keir Starmer said the UK-Cyprus relationship could be taken to “an even stronger level” as he met the country’s president in Nicosia for talks on the Middle East amid fresh upheaval in Syria. The Prime Minister also thanked military personnel at the Akrotiri base on the island, where British troops have been deployed, for their work during a “volatile” period in the region. The two men described the meeting as “historic”, with the Prime Minister saying it had been “far too long” since a British premier had made a bilateral visit to Cyprus. “Please take it as a statement of my intent that our already strong relationship, the partnership between our countries – strong historically, strong because of the ties that we’ve had people-to-people for many, many years and common interests – can be taken to an even stronger level between us,” he said.