The Republic of Cyprus was the only recognized state on Cypriot territory represented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), said Victor Papadopoulos, Director of the Press Office of the President of the Republic, to CNA on Thursday.
When asked by CNA to comment on yesterday’s departure of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as President Nicos Christodoulides entered the conference venue in Antalya, Mr. Papadopoulos stated that this was “a diplomatic faux pas.”
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“The fact remains, however, that the Republic of Cyprus was the only recognized state on Cypriot territory present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference,” he said. The President of the Republic, he added, represented the Republic of Cyprus, spoke on behalf of Cyprus at the Conference, and was the one who participated in the Conference’s group photo.
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“All of this speaks for itself: there is only one internationally recognized state in Cyprus, the Republic of Cyprus,” he noted.
When asked, Mr. Papadopoulos said that United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres informed the President of the Republic yesterday that, upon his return from his trip to the Philippines, he would reach out and set dates for the trilateral meeting between the President of the Republic, the Turkish Cypriot leader, and himself.
When asked for details regarding a proposal that the EU Special Representative for Cyprus, Raffaele Fito, is expected to present during his meetings in Turkey this month, to launch discussions on upgrading the EU-Turkey customs union, provided that negotiations on the Cyprus issue resume, Mr. Papadopoulos referred to yesterday’s meeting in Antalya between the President of the Republic and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, noting that they discussed “three key issues.” Specifically, he said, they discussed the UN Secretary-General’s initiative to resume talks, Mr. Fito’s upcoming visit to Turkey, and the process of Cyprus’s accession to the Schengen Area.
The President of the Republic, Mr. Papadopoulos said, discussed the details of Mr. Fito’s visit to Turkey “and yes, he was briefed on Mr. Fito’s intentions and what he will convey in Ankara.”
He emphasized that linking Euro-Turkish relations with the Cyprus issue “has been and remains a consistent objective of ours, but it is now also an objective of the EU, since this is the approach being followed by both the institutions and the member states following the April 2024 Conclusions, which clearly, explicitly and categorically link any progress in EU-Turkey relations to progress and the resolution of the Cyprus problem.”
He noted that there was also a second conversation between the President of the Republic and the President of the European Commission on the sidelines of the summit in Turkey, when Ms. von der Leyen spoke with the UN Secretary-General and briefed him on Mr. Fito to Turkey and the EU’s intention to initiate discussions on issues of interest to Turkey should the talks resume.
Ms. von der Leyen, Mr. Papadopoulos added, conveyed to the President of the Republic that Mr. Guterres had stated his goal is to resume negotiations within his term of office.
