Anastasiades meets Blair in private visit
FORMER British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades on Wednesday at the presidential palace in South Nicosia. The meeting lasted over an hour.
Mr Blair, on the island for a private visit, told reporters after the meeting that the two had an excellent discussion and spoke about the Cyprus problem, challenges in the Middle East region and the ties between the island and the UK.
He said this was his first time in South Cyprus and he loved it.
“I love it, I love the culture, the sunshine and the people are really friendly. My daughter-in-law is Cypriot.”
Mr Blair’s son Nicholas is married to divorce lawyer Alexandra Bevir, whose mother is Greek Cypriot. Mr Blair’s eldest son Euan is married to a woman whose mother is Turkish.
The former prime minster’s wife, barrister Cherie Blair, also has her own connection with Cyprus. She was famously part of the legal team that represented David and Linda Orams, a British couple who had built a villa on a former Greek Cypriot property in the TRNC, a case which was ultimately heard at the British High Court.
In September 2006, the High Court of Justice ruled in favour of the Orams, a decision appealed by the landowner Meletis Apostolides.
The Court of Appeal referred the case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which eventually ruled in Mr Apostolides’ favour.
The case went back to England where the Court of Appeal also ruled in Mr Apostolides’ favour. A 2010 attempt by the Orams to appeal the case at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom failed.