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Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides is expected to visit Türkiye for the U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP31, in Antalya next month, Greek Cypriot media reported, as he and Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhurman agreed to meet again next week.
Christodoulides confirmed he would attend the summit and said the invitation came as a result of diplomatic efforts.
If the visit goes ahead, Christodoulides would become only the fourth Greek Cypriot leader to visit Türkiye, amid renewed U.N.-backed contacts between the island's two sides.
"Of course I will attend. The Republic of Cyprus always attends these summits. I am pleased that, thanks to the decisive contribution of our partners, and following our diplomatic and political efforts conducted away from the public eye, we have achieved a result," he said.
Makarios III made an official visit to Türkiye in 1962.
Glafcos Clerides attended the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe summit in Istanbul in 1999, and Nicos Anastasiades took part in the U.N. World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in 2016.
Türkiye hosts COP31 in Antalya from Nov. 9 to 20, with high-level meetings of world leaders scheduled for Nov. 11-12.
Erhurman and Christodoulides met for about one hour and 20 minutes at the U.N. Good Offices Mission in the buffer zone in Nicosia. The two held talks in a positive atmosphere and agreed to meet again next week, without giving a date, it said.
The leaders will jointly attend a festival in the village of Pyla on Oct. 17, as well as upcoming meetings of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage, the Technical Committee on Youth and the Civil Society Consultative Body steering committee, the office said.
They are also awaiting a visit by Maria Angela Holguin, the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy on Cyprus.
Before the meeting, Erhurman said the agenda was seven confidence-building measures proposed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in July, of which the Turkish Cypriot side had accepted six, and that his side came seeking results-oriented talks.
Erhurman has also called on Christodoulides to make public the content of 19 proposals he put forward on the Cyprus issue, which include joint appearances by the two leaders.
The two leaders last met on Sept. 17, when they exchanged views on confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues, the U.N. said, ahead of Christodoulides' expected visit to Türkiye.
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