The meeting between the Greek Prime Minister and the Turkish President on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly now appears to have been cancelled, according to an official statement in Athens, as reported by the state broadcaster's correspondent.
The tete-a-tete was initially called off yesterday in New York and a new date is being sought, with Tayip Erdogan citing a conflict of schedule as his priority was to attend a meeting of Arab and Muslim leaders with US President Donald Trump on Gaza.
Responding to Turkish claims that the Greek government had announced the meeting ‘too soon,’ the PM’s office said that it always announces Mitsotakis' engagements, ‘unlike Turkey.’
A Greek state TV reporter had earlier said that a senior government source in Athens was doubtful on whether the meeting would be rescheduled, as the PM’s programme was ‘overloaded as it was.’
The same source said that the two leaders will have a chance to talk at ‘some point.’
The Greek comments were in response to claims reported by Turkish daily Milliyet that the meeting was cancelled because the Greek side violated the terms of a relevant agreement and announced the meeting.
‘Our side was clear during the set up of the meeting’, the source told Greek state television. ‘We always announce our contacts, Turkey usually doesn’t. The tete-a-tete was agreed on the sidelines of the UNGA and we made it public’.
The Greek PM held talks with President Nikos Christodoulides at 6pm Cyprus time yesterday, with the Erdogan meeting scheduled for 9pm and the cancellation announcement made in the interim.
The Turkish President addressed the UNGA yesterday, reiterating his call for the recognition of the illegal entity in the occupied territories and blaming the Greek Cypriot side for the current deadlock in talks. He further reaffirmed Ankara’s position on a two-state solution.
Erdogan called for the "legitimate interests of all parties" in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean to be respected, calling for constructive cooperation on these issues.
In an apparent reference to the Great Sea Interconnector project that would link the electricity grids of Greece, Cyprus and Israel, the Turkish President emphasised that projects which exclude Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean "will not succeed”.
“Turkey has rights and authority in the west of the island of Cyprus, while Turkish Cypriots have legitimate rights in the areas surrounding the island,” he added.
The Cyprus issue was discussed between Erdogan and the UN Secretary General during a meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA, the office of the head of the international organisation said.
The Secretary-General and Turkey’s President “exchanged views on Cyprus, the situation in the Middle East, Libya and Ukraine”, it said in an announcement. They also discussed wider UN – Türkiye cooperation, including the Zero Waste Initiative.