Ankara, Turkey. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to use renewed momentum to advance a settlement of the Cyprus issue after meeting on the sidelines of the Nato summit. The two EU leaders said the matter should move forward through the United Nations-led process.
EU-Turkey ties and Cyprus
Costa and von der Leyen published identical social media posts after the meeting, describing the European Union and Turkey as strategic partners and saying they are committed to strengthening their relationship.
They said that in a more challenging world, the partnership matters more than ever, adding that Turkey has been an important partner in addressing crises in the Middle East and supporting efforts for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
On Cyprus, they said renewed momentum should be used to advance a settlement of the issue through the UN-led process. They referred to a new United Nations initiative in recent weeks and months aimed at resuming negotiations in earnest to resolve the Cyprus problem.
Erdogan meets Starmer
Erdogan also held a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the summit, and the pair signed a security and defence partnership document.
Turkey’s presidential communications directorate said after the meeting that Erdogan stated cooperation and close dialogue between Turkey and the United Kingdom are important, and that the two countries would continue to advance their relations.
Mitsotakis comments on alliance relations
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose country is also a guarantor power of Cyprus, was also present at the summit.
He said an alliance needs to be based on the fundamental principle of good neighbourly relations and that, while Greece still faces what he described as an open threat of war by Turkey should it exercise its legal right to expand its territorial waters, the sensitivities of all Nato allies need to be taken into consideration.
Mitsotakis added that Nato is a defensive alliance and said he was sure the outstanding issues can be resolved in the spirit of good neighbourly relations and cooperation.
Aegean dispute
The open threat of war referenced by Mitsotakis refers to a Turkish parliamentary resolution signed in 1995 regarding the claims of both countries in the Aegean Sea.