Cyprus stated on Monday it could invite arch-foe Turkey to a summit throughout its European Union presidency subsequent 12 months regardless of a decades-long rift over Ankara’s 1974 invasion and its backing of a breakaway state on the divided island.
Nicosia will maintain the rotating EU presidency within the first six months of 2026 and plans a summit of regional leaders, together with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on points associated to the Center East, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides stated.
“You’ll be able to’t change geography – Turkey will at all times be a neighbour state to the Republic of Cyprus … Mr Erdogan will after all be welcome to this summit to debate developments within the space,” he informed journalists in Nicosia.
Christodoulides had earlier stated the identical in a British podcast aired on Monday in response to a query, saying the summit was deliberate for April 2026.
The Turkish presidency didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for touch upon the invitation to Erdogan.
Cyprus and Turkey don’t have any diplomatic relations and internet hosting a Turkish president would possibly show difficult each due to the diplomatic tightrope arising from previous battle and logistical points.
The jap Mediterranean island was partitioned by a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a quick Greek-inspired coup, and Ankara helps a breakaway, unrecognised state in north Cyprus the place it stations hundreds of troops.
Christodoulides heads a Greek Cypriot administration that represents all of Cyprus throughout the EU however with its powers stopping at a ceasefire line splitting the island into northern and southern sections. Erdogan has by no means visited the south.
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