Cyprus urges Turkey to drop two-state demand to advance EU bid

BERLIN (Reuters) -Cyprus said on Friday Turkey must drop its insistence on a two-state solution for the divided island if it hopes to make progress on its long-stalled bid to join the European Union.

Speaking in Berlin after talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said Turkey's position on Cyprus was an obstacle to its EU ambitions. He also argued that Ankara should not gain access to the bloc's defence fund, known as SAFE, saying that Turkey - though a NATO member - has no defence or security agreement with the EU.

Merz said Christodoulides had sought Germany's support in efforts to break the deadlock over Cyprus, emphasising Berlin’s strong relationship with Ankara.

"We discussed various options for how this could be achieved," Merz told a joint press conference.

"We discussed a very concrete proposal, which I received with interest, and that we could take a step in this direction during the Cypriot presidency. I expressed the German government's readiness to actively participate in this process."

Cyprus assumes the EU's rotating presidency in January. Cyprus and Turkey, which has been an EU candidate for decades, have no diplomatic relations.

Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greece-inspired coup. It remains divided into an internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north that only Ankara recognises.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday a two-state settlement was the most realistic option to settle the Cyprus problem, a position rejected by Greek Cypriots.

"If Mr Erdogan insists on two states in Cyprus, certainly Turkey cannot get close to the EU," Christodoulides said.

"What is important is that the EU and the international community, whatever Mr Erdogan says, (define) a solution based on U.N. Security Council resolutions," Christodoulides said.

(Reporting By Miranda Murray and Michele KambasEditing by Gareth Jones)