EU rebukes Turkey for freezing Cyprus out of COP31 preparation as Ankara prepares to host the November summit in Antalya
The European Commission on Thursday called Turkey's exclusion of Cyprus from preparatory meetings for the COP31 climate summit -- which Ankara will host in Antalya in November -- "unacceptable," with EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra warning the Turkish government that "you deal with all of the 27, or none of the 27." Turkey is also refusing or ignoring bilateral meeting requests from Cyprus, which currently represents all 27 EU governments as holder of the bloc's rotating Council presidency in the first half of this year. Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said "Türkiye has assured us that Cyprus would not be excluded from future preparatory meetings," though Ankara maintains no diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cyprus and is the only government worldwide to recognise the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.
The European Commission on Thursday publicly castigated Turkey for freezing Cyprus out of preparatory meetings ahead of this year's United Nations climate conference, calling Ankara's behaviour "unacceptable," POLITICO reported. The Turkish government -- which will host the COP31 summit in Antalya in November -- has excluded Cyprus from several informal preparation meetings in recent months and, according to diplomats, is refusing or ignoring bilateral meeting requests from Nicosia.
The exclusion is doubly sensitive because Cyprus currently represents all 27 EU governments: it holds the bloc's rotating Council presidency in the first half of this year. "This is unacceptable, and we will also not accept it. You deal with all of the 27, or none of the 27," the Commission's climate chief Wopke Hoekstra told POLITICO on Thursday. "If you seek to host an international event, that trumps any national sensitivities you might be having," he added.
The Commission used its Thursday press conference to repeat the line in public. "We have made it clear that the exclusion of a United Nations member state from the preparation process of the U.N. COP31 climate conference is not acceptable," spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said. "Türkiye has assured us that Cyprus would not be excluded from future preparatory meetings for COP31."
Turkey maintains no diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cyprus, the EU member country internationally recognised as the sole legitimate government of the entire island. Ankara is the only government worldwide that recognises the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north as independent. The island has been effectively divided since Turkey invaded in 1974 in response to a Greek-backed coup.