Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will attend an international conference on Libya in Paris next week despite Turkey’s warning that if Nicosia was invited Ankara would snub it.
In particular, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told journalists on his return from the G20 in Rome on Sunday that if Cyprus, Greece and Israel were invited Ankara wouldn’t attend.
And that he had informed French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that this was a “condition” for Ankara.
Nicosia has every reason to be pleased with the invitation it received from France – the conference organisers – since it is an undisputed reward for the foreign policy pursued in recent years, Philenews reports.
On the other hand, it seems that this development and the fact that France has chosen to invite Cyprus, Greece and Israel to this conference, are actions that have greatly annoyed Turkey.
That is why similar reactions from the Turkish side are expected in the next 24 hours. Whether Erdogan will eventually carry out his threat and be absent or whether he will eventually make other choices – such as send representatives – remains to be seen.
Cyprus Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides will be accompanying the President at the conference.
