Erdogan’s response to Cyprus invite ‘not positive’, Christodoulides says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s response to an invite to attend an informal meeting of European Union member states and neighbouring countries in Cyprus in April was “not positive”, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday.

He told Greek television channel Skai that he had invited Erdogan to attend April’s meeting, and that he had also invited Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to attend an informal meeting of European foreign ministers in Limassol.

Additionally, he said, he had invited Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay, who oversees the country’s relations with the EU, to an informal meeting of the Council of the EU’s general affairs council (GAC) which will be held in Cyprus in the coming months.

“About 24 hours ago, we asked some people to mediate, because our goal was not to send an invitation and get a negative response,” he said.

“Our goal is to create positive developments. About 24 hours ago, we were informed that the reaction from Turkey is not positive,” he said.

He had at the end of last month spoken of his intention to invite Erdogan and Fidan to Cyprus during the island’s six-month term as the holder of the Council of the EU’s rotating presidency, saying that “Turkey is not excluded from the Republic of Cyprus, but Turkey must choose whether to insist on its own self-exclusion”.

“We seek for Turkey to seize the opportunity, in connection with its Cyprus-related obligations,” he said at the time.

Fidan had earlier suggested that Cyprus’ six-month term “could also be an opportunity for Turkey”.

He lamented that at present, “the Greek Cypriot administration is placing obstacles in front of Turkey on the international stage”, but also expressed hope that this stance may soften in the near future.

“They obstruct us whenever they get the chance. However, I think that in the face of the current threats which Europe is facing, cooperation and relations between the European Union and Turkey have become more meaningful than ever,” he said.

Earlier, he had warned of reports that “a Mediterranean agreement encompassing the entire Mediterranean” with the exception of Turkey, “will be put forward” during Cyprus’ six-month term, saying that were such an agreement to come about, it would be “illegitimate from our perspective”.

Christodoulides’ overtures to Erdogan last month drew the ire of Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, with a comment made to French newspaper Le Figaro by Christodoulides stating that he is “prepared to meet [Erdogan] to discuss the Cyprus issue and reach a negotiated settlement” drawing a response.

Erhurman accused Christodoulides of “disregarding his interlocutor and the Turkish Cypriot people, who are on equal footing in all negotiations under the United Nations umbrella”.

He added that Christodoulides’ comments did not “in any way help to create a climate for a solution on the island” and that “on the contrary, it undermines mutual trust”.