Cyprus invites Turkey's Erdogan to summit despite long rift over 1974 invasion

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus said on Monday it would invite arch-foe Turkey to a summit during its European Union presidency next year despite a decades-long rift over Ankara's 1974 invasion and its backing of a breakaway state on the divided island.

Nicosia will hold the rotating EU presidency in the first six months of 2026 and plans a summit of regional leaders, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, on issues related to the Middle East, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.

"You can't change geography - Turkey will always be a neighbour state to the Republic of Cyprus .. Mr Erdogan will of course be welcome to this summit to discuss developments in the area," he told journalists in Nicosia.

Christodoulides had earlier said the same in a British podcast aired on Monday in response to a question, saying the summit was planned for April 2026.

The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the invitation to Erdogan.

Cyprus and Turkey have no diplomatic relations and hosting a Turkish president might prove challenging both because of the diplomatic tightrope arising from past conflict and logistical issues.

The eastern Mediterranean island was partitioned by a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a brief Greek-inspired coup, and Ankara supports a breakaway, unrecognised state in north Cyprus where it stations thousands of troops.

Christodoulides heads a Greek Cypriot administration that represents all of Cyprus within the EU but with its powers stopping at a ceasefire line splitting the island into northern and southern sections. Erdogan has never visited the south.

(Writing by Michele Kambas; editing by Mark Heinrich)