A joint post by the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, following a dinner with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday evening in Ankara, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. The two European leaders emphasize that the “renewed momentum” must be harnessed to advance a solution to the Cyprus issue through the process under the auspices of the UN.
Specifically, in their post, they thank Erdogan for the warm welcome in Ankara, emphasizing that “the European Union and Turkey are strategic partners, and we are committed to strengthening our relationship.” As they note, “in an increasingly challenging world, our partnership is more important than ever.”
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“Turkey has been an important partner in addressing crises in the Middle East and in supporting efforts toward a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” they added, concluding the post with a reference to the Cyprus issue: “We must also capitalize on the renewed momentum to advance a settlement of the Cyprus issue through the process under the auspices of the UN.”
Present at the meeting of the three leaders were President Costa’s chief foreign policy advisor, Anna-Maria Boura, von der Leyen’s chief of staff, Björn Seibert, and, representing Turkey, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Trade Minister Ömer Bolat.
As with all the leaders who took part in the NATO Summit, Costa and von der Leyen received a gift from host Erdoğan—as is customary at defense-related summits— a revolver, along with live ammunition, and the export documents for each of the weapons, on which the recipient’s name was engraved.
Source: KYPE
