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Daily Sabah (30 June 2025)

It is an invitation that Türkiye may automatically reject, but Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides seems to have no choice but to make it anyway. The leader of an entity on the divided island of Cyprus, which is not recognized by Türkiye, announced plans for a summit of regional leaders, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to discuss issues related to the Middle East. The summit will follow the Greek Cypriot administration's assumption of rotating EU presidency in the first six months of 2026. Although Erdoğan and Christodoulides came together, often in the presence of other leaders, they never held bilateral talks.

"You can't change geography – Turkey will always be a neighboring state to the 'Republic of Cyprus' ... Mr Erdoğan will, of course, be welcome to this summit to discuss developments in the area," Christodoulides told journalists in Nicosia (Lefkoşa). The Greek Cypriot entity calls itself the "Republic of Cyprus," a designation opposed by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the north, as well as Türkiye. Both insist on the sovereignty of Turkish Cypriots as a separate state, following the collapse of talks over a bicommunal federation.

Christodoulides had earlier made the same statement in a British podcast aired on Monday, in response to a question, confirming that the summit was planned for April 2026. The Turkish Presidency did not immediately respond to the invitation.

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