Mitsotakis to brief Christodoulides on Erdogan meeting

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is to brief President Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday regarding the content of his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to reports.

The Cyprus News Agency reported that Mitsotakis and Christodoulides will convene on the sidelines of the day’s informal European leaders’ retreat at the Alden Biesen castle in eastern Belgium.

Mitsotakis and Erdogan had met in Ankara on Wednesday, and the former had told the latter of a “window of opportunity” for a solution to the Cyprus problem to be found.

While Erdogan made no direct reference to the Cyprus problem, he did say that he and Mitsotakis had “openly discussed our positions on the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean”.

“While these issues are complex, they are not insurmountable under international law. All that is needed is good faith. I saw that my friend Kyriakos and I agree on this. The issues must be resolved on the basis of the law. I believe that our relations will make progress towards a solution,” he said.

Those comments come after European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had last week said she welcomes Turkey’s “engagement” in talks regarding the Cyprus problem following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara.

Kos had earlier spoken of an “opportunity” for Turkey to progress its process towards EU accession through Cyprus problem talks.

“We know that any progress is connected to bilateral relations, not just Cyprus, but also with the … new Cyprus settlement talks. It is now a big opportunity to continue,” Kos said. “There really is more that connects the EU and Turkey than what is dividing us.”

She later said that Turkey’s aim to be more deeply involved in Europe’s defence architecture would depend on the stances of the EU’s member states, and to this end said that “the new Cyprus settlement talks are a great opportunity for improvements in this area”.