President Christodoulides attends COP31 summit in Antalya amid diplomatic tensions

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides attended the United Nations COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, on November 11, 2026. The visit was marked by a deliberate diplomatic snub: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan temporarily left the welcome line specifically when Christodoulides arrived, leaving UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to greet the Cypriot leader alone. Reports indicate the UNFCCC secretariat, rather than Erdogan, issued the invitation to Christodoulides, while Erdogan personally invited Turkish Cypriot figures Tufan Erhurman and Unal Ustel.

During the summit, Christodoulides engaged in side meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Emir of Qatar, and China’s Environment Minister. He addressed the summit, emphasizing that climate change ignores political borders and calling for accelerated fossil fuel transition, a tripling of renewable capacity, and increased energy efficiency by 2030. He also promoted the Nicosia Initiative for climate action in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Following the summit, government officials stated that the international community recognizes only the Republic of Cyprus. Diplomatic efforts regarding the Cyprus problem continue, with reports suggesting that UN Secretary-General Guterres plans to propose dates for a trilateral meeting following his travel to the Philippines. Christodoulides subsequently departed for Dublin for upcoming European political and summit engagements.