EU–Turkey meeting planned for October to address Cyprus talks
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides announced that the European Union and Turkey would hold high-level talks before the end of October. He linked the meeting to efforts to restart Cyprus negotiations and possible progress in EU–Turkey relations. The initiative follows contacts with the United Nations secretary-general and European leaders; no exact meeting date was announced.
Geopolitics··Evening
October meeting to explore a return to negotiations
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said on Friday that a meeting at the highest level between the European Union and Turkey would take place before October ends. Speaking in Brussels as he arrived for the European Council summit’s second day, he said the discussions would examine conditions for restarting Cyprus negotiations. Possible progress in EU–Turkey relations formed the other part of the announced agenda. An exact date, venue and participant list were not announced.[1], [2]
Guterres requested the diplomatic contact
Christodoulides said the meeting was being arranged at the request of António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general. He had been briefed following discussions in New York with Guterres and contacts involving European institutions’ leaders. He linked progress in EU–Turkey relations to a resumption of Cyprus talks within the agreed framework. The president also referred to the expected late-October visit of the secretary-general’s personal envoy, saying these contacts could help create conditions for positive steps.[1]
July contacts preceded the new announcement
His administration has prioritised a more active EU role in efforts to resume negotiations, Christodoulides said. He welcomed European Commission Vice President Raffaele Fitto’s appointment as the Commission’s Cyprus envoy. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in July. Later that month, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and senior EU officials signed a joint declaration supporting Guterres’s Cyprus efforts. The current initiative concerns preparation for a high-level meeting to explore a negotiating restart.[1]
