Turkey has already begun promoting the major climate change summit in Antalya, to which dozens of heads of state have been invited.
Among them is President Christodoulides, and the President’s Office has not denied reports that the invitation was sent following diplomatic pressure exerted on Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The entire matter has not gone unnoticed by the Turkish press, which has mocked Nicosia’s satisfaction.
“Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides was particularly pleased to receive an invitation from Turkey to the United Nations Climate Summit, which will take place in Antalya next month.”
Hürriyet
Hürriyet describes the background leading up to the event, including Erdoğan’s refusal to send an invitation to the Republic of Cyprus—which he does not recognize—and Nicosia’s diplomatic protests.
It also highlights Christodoulides’ warnings that he would not accept the promotion of Tufan Erhurman, who was also invited by Erdogan, in fact as early as last July.
“Christodoulides, who rushes to hold brief discussions and be photographed with President Erdogan or Hakan Fidan, whenever he sees them at international summits and then distributes these photos to the Greek Cypriot press, specifically said, ‘We are prepared for all kinds of surprises.’”
Hurriyet
In any case, at the Presidential Palace, there appears to be some annoyance over Erhurman’s statement that he received an invitation from Erdoğan on July 14, but did not deem it appropriate to mention anything to President Christodoulides, even as recently as the day before yesterday.
At the same time, however, everyone realizes that the Antalya Summit—especially with Erhurman in the mix—presents a major opportunity to address the Cyprus issue behind the scenes.
Erdoğan, Guterres—in his swan song—and the European Union will all be present there.
The Gate and Symbolism
All eyes are now on the Gate and the Bi-communal Peace Festival, which is returning after years of absence, in anticipation of the two leaders’ joint appearance on Saturday evening.
This joint appearance, in the absence of progress—both on substantive issues and regarding confidence-building measures—aims to breathe new life into the Cyprus issue.
The last such event took place in 2019, and the initiative has remained dormant ever since.
Watch Giorgos Georgiadis’s report:
