Nobody expected anything different from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of the occupying power, in the way he treated the Republic of Cyprus and its President, Nikos Christodoulides.
As is now widely known, when Christodoulides arrived at the conference centre in Antalya hosting the Leaders’ Summit of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), Erdogan left the area where leaders were being received.
The President was therefore welcomed by the UN Secretary-General alone. It was an act that insulted, and showed contempt for, the United Nations, its Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and, not least, the Republic of Cyprus, a member state of both the UN and the European Union.
From what we saw, his exit was temporary and intended to avoid welcoming President Christodoulides. Turkey, as everyone knows, maintains the fiction that the Republic of Cyprus is defunct. It should also be noted that the Cypriot President’s name was not announced during the welcome.
This behaviour confirms Turkey’s intentions. It confirms that Turkey, the occupying power, does not respect the basic principles that govern the United Nations. And when it does not respect those principles, it acts like a steamroller: high-handed and extreme.
The COP31 leaders’ summit is Turkey’s to host, not to own. It cannot do as it pleases; there are rules. This is a UN summit, which is why the organisation’s Secretary-General travelled to Antalya. It is also why the Secretary-General was the one welcoming the leaders of member states, with the Turkish President, whose country is hosting the summit, standing beside him.
Turkey has plainly shown itself up with its conduct towards the President of the Republic of Cyprus. It is worth recalling that it took interventions with Ankara before the host country sent the Cypriot President the invitation it was obliged to send. Ankara also arranged for its puppet in the occupied north, Tufan Erhurman, to attend.
At the same time, it is obvious that Erdogan himself has been shown up. He has confirmed that he does not behave as the leader of a great country, but out of expediency and narrow-minded thinking. And he has confirmed that he is petty, too.
