Brussels: Minister of Foreign Affairs Constantinos Kombos is set to update his EU counterparts on Turkey’s recent efforts to enhance the status of the illegal breakaway entity in the occupied regions of Cyprus at the Organization of Turkic States.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will head to Brussels on Sunday. On Monday, November 18, 2024, he will participate in the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union. The Council’s agenda includes discussions on the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, recent developments in Georgia, EU-USA relations, the situation in the Middle East, and regional instability in the Horn of Africa.
Minister Kombos will also provide updates to his counterparts regarding the 11th Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States and Turkey’s attempts to upgrade the status of the pseudo-state. Before the Council meeting, Kombos is scheduled to attend a working breakfast with EU Foreign Ministers and Moldova’s Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mihai Pop?oi.
Cyprus has been a member of the EU since 2004 but remains divided due to the presence of Turkish troops since the 1974 invasion. Numerous UN-led peace talks have yet to produce a resolution. The most recent negotiations, held in July 2017 at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, ended without agreement. The illegal entity declared independence unilaterally on November 15, 1983, in the Turkish-occupied areas, a move condemned by the UN Security Council and the international community as void. It is recognized solely by Turkey.