LONDON (AP) — Cyprus’ president says he’s certain the Brexit agreement between Britain and the European Union safeguards the legal rights of all Cypriot and other Europeans living and working inside two sovereign British military bases on the east Mediterranean island nation.

President Nicos Anastasiades also said the draft Brexit deal protects the rights of the Cyprus Republic because EU law will continue to apply on bases territory.

Anastasiades said Cyprus wants to strengthen the already close historic, economic and social bonds it has with Britain. Some 11,000 Cypriots are estimated to live and work inside two military bases that Britain retained after Cyprus gained independence from British colonial rule in 1960.

Anastasiades said the draft Brexit deal includes a section on the British Bases that was the product of negotiations between the Cyprus, the EU and the UK.