Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Nikos Christodoulides Discuss Cyprus Issue and EU Relations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides met personally before the European Political Community summit in Budapest. The two leaders discussed their relations with the European Union, with the resolution of the Cyprus issue being described as a key condition for Turkey's EU membership.

Photographs released by the media show Erdoğan, Christodoulides, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama sitting together and engaged in conversation.

Following the meeting, Christodoulides told the media that during their informal talks, he "repeatedly reminded the Turkish leader that the resumption of negotiations on Cyprus can only be based on the relevant UN resolutions" and that anything beyond that framework "cannot even be discussed."

Christodoulides emphasized that while Cyprus is ready to play a constructive role in fostering relations between the EU and Turkey, the path to Turkey's EU membership must involve "substantial changes" regarding the Cyprus issue.

The President of Cyprus expressed his country's commitment to strengthening EU-Turkey relations alongside making significant progress on resolving the Cyprus problem.

Erdoğan also reminded the media that, in his speech to the European Political Community, he did not mention the Cyprus issue but instead detailed Turkey's desire to "move closer to the EU," including expressing interest in joining the European Defence Agency.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, for his part, offered to host the next meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Cyprus in Albania.

During their informal discussions, the leaders also exchanged views on the outcome of the U.S. elections and other regional and international developments.

It’s worth noting that this meeting between the Turkish and Cypriot Presidents came the day after Erdoğan and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar attended the summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Bishkek, which was also attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

At the summit, Erdoğan stated, "The Turkic world is responsible for finding a fair solution to the Cyprus issue."

The European Political Community (EPC) is an intergovernmental forum established in 2022 for political and strategic discussions on Europe's future, created in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.