Can Cyprus reunify?

By Geoff Hoon

Most British people know Cyprus from their vacations. Travel brochures describe "an island of legends that basks in the light of the warm Mediterranean sun". But many visitors will be surprised to find an island divided and a capital city, Nicosia, split in two. Cyprus is not written about in our newspapers so much these days. Indeed, in many ways it is a forgotten island.

Cyprus has made huge progress in recent years, especially with the achievement of membership of the European Union in 2004. It is no exaggeration to say this was largely thanks to the determined efforts of Robin Cook during his period as foreign secretary.

I witnessed Robin's commitment myself when I worked with him as a minister in the Foreign Office in the late 1990s. As he said "it would have been much better if Cyprus were brought into the European Union as a united island rather than divided" but he was extremely proud that it was Britain's voice that was instrumental in ensuring that reunification was regarded as desirable "but was not an essential condition for its membership of the European Union".

Yesterday I made my first visit to Cyprus as Europe minister. Sadly, relations between our two nations are not as close as in Robin's time. There is a suspicion from some of our support concerning the accession of Turkey to the EU.

This is unfortunate, not just because of the commitment of senior figures in the Labour government, from Robin Cook to John Prescott, in securing Cyprus's place in the EU, but also because of the huge importance of Cyprus to the United Kingdom.

There are huge bilateral links between our two nations. Not only is Cyprus a leading tourist destination for Britons, over 300,000 Cypriots live in the UK, making a valuable contribution in all spheres of life.

Like Robin, my professional objective, as well as my political and personal instinct, is to help Cyprus to reunite. The status quo on the island, where blue-bereted United Nations peacekeepers still patrol the divide, is simply not acceptable. The British government has consistently supported the efforts of the UN to broker a solution, using what influence we have to keep the sides talking at all costs. As conflicts around the world have taught us, dialogue is the first step to a peaceful solution. But there is only going to be progress if both sides come together to negotiate.

And while the British government can encourage this, I believe a much more powerful voice comes from the many Cypriots living in the United Kingdom. I have met many representatives from both communities. Now more than ever we need them to speak up and urge their compatriots back home to seek a solution.

But despite its importance, the focus of my visit to Cyprus this week will not be reunification. As the EU celebrates its 50th birthday, I will be strengthening the links that we have with this important member state. Government to government cooperation is already wide-ranging, with partnerships on a spectrum of issues from counter-terrorism to football hooliganism. Nearly three years of shared European membership has helped us to forge even closer links, not only at a political level, but also through school twinning projects and cultural interchange.

Cyprus is an island of huge strategic importance. It is an island with the closest links to the United Kingdom. There is a close attachment across the Labour movement. When Robin Cook died no country felt his loss more than Cyprus. The Cypriot president, Tassos Papadopoulos, described him as "an outspoken advocate for a just and viable settlement of the Cyprus problem". Friends of Cyprus from across both divides need to work together to make Robin Cook's dream of reunification a reality.