Christodoulides says Cyprus talks will feature in top-level EU-Turkey meeting in October

Brussels, Belgium. President Nikos Christodoulides said on Friday that the Cyprus issue would be on the agenda of an EU-Turkey meeting at the highest level before October ends. Speaking upon arrival for day two of the European Council summit, he said potential advances in EU-Turkey relations depended on restarting settlement negotiations within the agreed framework.

Meeting follows UN request

Christodoulides said European institutional leaders had informed him the previous day about the planned meeting, which followed a request by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He linked the initiative to discussions held in New York, including his own meetings with Guterres and separate contacts between the secretary-general and the leaders of European institutions. He welcomed the news and said the October meeting would examine ways to establish conditions allowing negotiations to restart.

According to the president, the discussions would cover two related processes: efforts to revive Cyprus settlement talks and possible improvements in EU-Turkey ties, with the latter conditional on negotiations resuming under the agreed framework.

He said the meeting could help bring positive developments, particularly following Guterres’ July visit to Cyprus.

President stresses EU role

Christodoulides reiterated his political commitment and said the EU could take a leading role. He said securing stronger, more active European involvement in efforts to restart negotiations had been a priority from the outset of his administration.

He also welcomed the appointment earlier in the summer of European Commission Vice President for Cohesion Raffaele Fitto as the commission’s envoy for the Cyprus issue, saying the decision clearly illustrated the EU’s approach.

Earlier contacts and deteriorating relations

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa last held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, on the sidelines of the Naot leaders’ summit in Ankara that month. They urged him to use the renewed momentum to help secure a Cyprus settlement.

Later in July, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan joined the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in signing a joint declaration expressing support for Guterres’ work on Cyprus.

Since the summer, however, relations between the island’s two sides appear to have worsened. Incidents during August and September strained ties between Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman.