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The two British sovereign base areas have provoked little controversy since they were negotiated at the time of Cypriot independence in 1960 - barring embarrassing incidents involving drunken British troops.
Yet for the Ministry of Defence and British intelligence agencies, they are important footholds in a strategically vital part of the world. The Dhekelia sovereign base area in the east of the island contains an RAF signals station, which is a GCHQ listening post intercepting communications around the Middle East and the Caucasus.
It picks up military and diplomatic signals, giving London a rich source of...