Nicosia, Cyprus. European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos held a telephone call with Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos on Monday following her trip to Turkey last week. The two discussed the European Union’s enlargement agenda and relations between the EU and Turkey.
Call follows Kos meeting with Turkey’s foreign minister
According to Cyprus’ foreign ministry, Kos and Kombos spoke about the European Union’s “enlargement agenda” and relations between the bloc and Turkey.
Kos met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Friday and said she welcomes Turkey’s “engagement” in talks regarding the Cyprus problem.
Comments link Cyprus talks to EU-Turkey ties
Kos’ comments followed earlier remarks in which she spoke of an “opportunity” for Turkey to progress its process towards accession to the European Union through a new round of talks to resolve the Cyprus problem.
“We know that any progress is connected to bilateral relations, not just Cyprus, but also with the … new Cyprus settlement talks. It is now a big opportunity to continue,” she said, adding that “there really is more that connects the EU and Turkey than what is dividing us”.
She later said Turkey’s aim to be more deeply involved in Europe’s defence architecture would depend on the stances of EU member states, and said that “the new Cyprus settlement talks are a great opportunity for improvements in this area”.
Prospects for enlarged meeting remain unclear
Turkey’s next direct involvement in the Cyprus problem is expected to come at an enlarged meeting involving the island’s two sides, the UN, Turkey, and the island’s other two guarantor powers, Greece and the United Kingdom.
No date has been set for such a meeting. A tripartite meeting last month involving President Nikos Christodoulides, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman and UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin ended without any agreements being reached.
Holguin said afterward that no enlarged meeting could be held before “results on the confidence-building measures” between the island’s two sides are achieved. She added, “I am waiting for something more,” and, when asked whether Christodoulides and Erhurman had responded to her demand for more progress, said, “I think they might. Not yet”.
What do you think would be needed for confidence-building measures between the two sides to produce results?