President Christodoulides has convened a meeting of the National Council for 13 September to brief political leaders on developments in the Cyprus issue before his trip to New York, the government announced on Tuesday.
The decision comes amidst growing tensions between the government and the Movement of Social Democracy (EDEK) over Cyprus-related matters and EU-Turkey relations.
The National Council meeting will cover efforts to arrange talks between the UN Secretary-General, Christodoulides, and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar.
It will also address Cyprus’s decision to support Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s participation in an extraordinary EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, for which the government received criticism.
Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis defended the move, stating that until 2019, Turkey’s foreign minister regularly attended such meetings when candidate states were discussed.
“Nothing is being done in secret,” Letymbiotis told state broadcaster CyBC, responding to critics.
However, EDEK remains critical, labelling the decision to allow Turkey’s participation without securing concessions as “wrong and dangerous”.
The Democratic Alignment (DIPA), another coalition partner, has backed the government’s stance, calling it a “responsible” approach that demonstrates a willingness to resolve the Cyprus issue.
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