The European Union has strongly criticized Turkey for excluding Cyprus from preparatory meetings for COP31, with EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra emphasizing the importance of treating all 27 member states equally. Cyprus reported that Turkey did not invite it to two key COP31 preparatory meetings held in New York and Tokyo.

Hoekstra communicated to the UN and Turkey’s EU embassy that the exclusion was unacceptable, reaffirming that the EU stands in full solidarity with all its member states. Turkey, which does not recognize the Greek Cypriot government and only acknowledges the Turkish Cypriot administration in northern Cyprus, has maintained that Cyprus was invited to UN-coordinated COP31 events but not to those organized independently by Turkey.

Cyprus has expressed concern about possible exclusion from the COP31 Leaders’ Summit, which could provoke EU members like Poland to boycott the event in protest. Ireland’s climate minister called for dialogue to resolve the issue peacefully. Turkey hosts COP31 this year, although Australia leads the central UN negotiations.