The European Union has rebuked Turkey for excluding Cyprus from preparations for this year's UN climate summit, as diplomatic tensions over the issue increase ahead of the global climate talks.
Turkey will host the COP31 climate summit in November, where nearly 200 countries will gather for their annual talks on how to address global warming.
At a meeting of EU climate ministers on Thursday, Cyprus said it had not been invited by Turkey to two preparatory meetings for COP31, in New York and Tokyo.
Turkish officials have said Cyprus had been invited to all COP31-related events under the coordination of the UN, including meetings in Bonn and Petersburg, but not to events organised by Turkey independently of COP at a national level, such as a "Zero Waste" event in New York.
“The various contacts and meetings conducted by our country in the lead-up to COP31 are events organised at the national level for purposes of preparation, consultation, and promotion," a Turkish diplomatic source said.
