Cypriot FM crashes Turkish FM’s interview

The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Christodoulides, had a two-minute exchange with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in front of cameras, highlighting their different approaches to the current peace talks.

On Monday, at the United Nations headquarters, Christodoulides was on his way to meet his Greek counterpart when he approached and greeted Cavusoglu, who was himself giving an interview to reporters just before his scheduled meeting with his Indian counterpart.

Christodoulides, a Greek Cypriot former career diplomat, jokingly teased Cavusoglu in front of the cameras by telling reporters not to believe a word the Turkish minister was saying, essentially starting a conversation between the two men according to media sources.

Christodoulides challenged Cavusoglu to restart negotiations by dropping Turkish plans aimed at setting up an informal meeting to agree on the kind of solution sought by the two sides, Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north of the divided island. 

In a response, Cavusoglu mentioned past negotiations claiming that President Nicos Anastasiades suggested a confederation model to the Turkish foreign minister, with Christodoulides shaking his finger while refuting the claims and stating only a federal solution was being sought.

The meeting was said to have taken place on good terms, while media observers said the pleasant exchange between the two men hinted at the vast disagreements that still lie ahead in UN efforts to settle the Cyprus problem.

The footage above originated from a Greek media outlet but was not published in its entirety, with some reporters saying the impromptu meeting lasted about two minutes. Twitter users can watch a longer video clip by clicking here.