Cyprus receives invitation to COP31 summit in Turkey — Cyprus Mail
Cyprus has received a letter inviting it to the UN climate summit COP31, which is due to take place in Antalya, Turkey. A government source told the Cyprus News Agency, Cyprus Mail reports.
The source was commenting on a Kathimerini report according to which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent personal letters to the leaders of 26 European Union states, inviting them to a leaders' meeting within COP31 on November 11. According to the source, Cyprus was initially not included in this correspondence. It was not specified who sent the invitation received later.
European Union support
The government source said the letter arrived after systematic and coordinated diplomatic efforts with the support of European institutions and EU member states. The European position, according to the source, was based on the fact that the full and equal participation of an EU member state in international processes cannot be called into question or unilaterally restricted.
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The dispute over Cyprus' participation in COP31 events has continued since spring. In March, the country was reportedly not invited to a COP31 briefing at UN headquarters in New York. Politico, citing diplomats, wrote that Turkey objected to the participation of Cypriot officials as part of the EU delegation.
Previous statements by the sides
In April, the EU expressed serious concern after reports that Cyprus had allegedly been denied participation in a March 27 COP31 meeting chaired by Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum. The Turkish side said at the time that such meetings were not held under an official UN mandate and that invitations were at the organizers' discretion.
In June, Turkish diplomatic sources told Reuters that Cypriot delegations had been invited to all COP31 events coordinated by the UN. European Commissioner for Climate Wopke Hoekstra said after a meeting of EU climate ministers that the European Union would not agree to Cyprus being excluded. Turkey is hosting COP31 jointly with Australia: Murat Kurum chairs the conference, while Australian Climate Minister Chris Bowen leads the political leaders' negotiations.
