The stance of Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan during the reception of leaders at the COP31 Summit in Antalya is at the centre of Turkish media reports, following the arrival of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides.
Milliyet’s main front-page headline reads, “He is considered non-existent by Ankara”, while pro-government outlets present the failure to receive the Cypriot President as a diplomatic message from Ankara to Nicosia.
According to Milliyet, Erdoğan was receiving leaders alongside UN Secretary-General António Guterres, but left the reception area before Christodoulides arrived. The President of the Republic of Cyprus was welcomed by the Secretary-General alone.
The pro-government Star describes the stance as a “sign of contempt” and claims it was a diplomatic message that angered the Greek Cypriot side. Daily Sabah, under the headline “Warm welcomes, cold treatment”, reports that Christodoulides paused for a few seconds before moving towards the reception area, giving Erdoğan time to leave.
Türkiye, under the headline “He welcomed everyone but him”, notes that the Turkish President had previously greeted Tufan Erhürman and claims that Christodoulides expressed his displeasure to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Yeni Şafak reports that the Cypriot President had to wait at the entrance and was taken by surprise by Erdoğan’s stance.
The opposition newspaper Sözcü reports the reactions of the Cypriot government, noting that Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis described Erdoğan’s behaviour as disrespectful to the United Nations.
Aydınlık focuses on the background to Christodoulides’ participation in the Summit, claiming that the invitation did not come personally from Erdoğan but through the organisers, following European interventions.
Source: CNA
