Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides had an unexpected meeting over coffee during an EU summit in Hungary on Thursday, Greek Cypriot officials reported.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan joined them, followed later by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, according to a post on X by Greek Cypriot Deputy Government Spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Christodoulides described their informal discussion, during which he repeatedly emphasised to Erdogan that any resumption of Cyprus talks must be grounded in relevant UN resolutions.
“Anything outside that framework cannot even be discussed,” Christodoulides said he conveyed to Erdogan.
He added that Cyprus is willing to contribute constructively to EU-Turkey relations, but stressed that Turkey’s path to EU membership requires “substantive developments” on the Cyprus issue.
The meeting was not prearranged, and interactions between Turkey and Greek Cypriot leaders are rare, often occurring only by chance. The two nations lack diplomatic relations due to longstanding conflicts and the island’s division between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Photos from the encounter showed Erdogan and Christodoulides, along with other officials, seated around a low coffee table in a conference hall.
In Athens, officials reported that the discussion touched on the US presidential election and global issues.
Source: Cyprus Mail.
