President Nikos Christodoulides leaves for Antalya in Turkey on Tuesday afternoon to attend the leaders’ summit of the UN climate change conference, COP31, after Cyprus secured an official invitation with the backing of the European Union.
Christodoulides will travel via Rhodes at the head of a Cypriot delegation for the summit, which takes place on Wednesday and Thursday.
The issue of Cyprus’s participation arose after Kathimerini’s Sunday edition reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had sent personal invitations to the leaders of the other 26 EU member states. According to the newspaper, he was trying to exclude the Republic of Cyprus and its President.
A government source said at the time that Cyprus secured an official invitation after systematic and coordinated diplomatic efforts by Nicosia, which mobilised the European institutions and EU member states.
The source said coordinated pressure from the EU had been particularly important. The bloc’s shared position was that a member state’s full and equal participation in international processes cannot be called into question or subjected to unilateral restrictions.
COP31 opened on Monday and runs until 20 November. It focuses on strengthening international action on climate change, implementing the Paris Agreement and adapting to the effects of the climate crisis.
At the leaders’ summit, heads of state and government are expected to set out their national positions and commitments on climate action. The programme also includes discussions on the energy transition, climate finance and building resilience to the effects of climate change.
(information from the Cyprus News Agency)
