Ankara: The Cyprus issue featured prominently in a joint social media post by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, following their dinner with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Wednesday evening in Ankara, on the sidelines of the NATO Summit. The two EU leaders stressed that the "renewed momentum" should be seized to advance a settlement of the Cyprus issue through the UN-led process. According to Cyprus News Agency, Costa and von der Leyen thanked President Erdogan for the warm welcome in Ankara, emphasizing that "the EU and Turkey are strategic partners, and we are committed to strengthening our relationship." They added that "in a more challenging world, our partnership matters more than ever." "Turkey has been an important partner in addressing the crises in the Middle East and supporting efforts for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," they said, concluding their message with a reference to Cyprus: "We must a lso seize the renewed momentum to advance a settlement of the Cyprus issue through the UN-led process." Also attending the meeting between the three leaders were Costa's Chief Foreign Policy Adviser, Anna-Maria Boura, European Commission President von der Leyen's Head of Cabinet, Björn Seibert, as well as Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Minister of Trade mer Bolat. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively. After informal meetings in 2025, followed by a hiatus of several months, deliberations are underway for a new meeting in broader format to be held, as the term of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres nears its end. María Angela Holguín, Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties.