President Nicos Anastasiades canceled the planned meeting after discovering Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci had been invited to this week's World Humanitarian Summit, held in Istanbul.
"With regret President Anastasiades has ascertained there is no fertile ground to hold a planned meeting with the Turkish Cypriot leader on May 27," government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said.
#Akinci visit and the ensuing reaction from #Anastasiades is "as per convention" of TR but also CYP diplomacy (1/2) #Cyprus
— Mustafa Cirakli (@m_cirakli) May 24, 2016
The cancellation of Friday's planned meeting is the first hurdle in rejuvenated peace talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, with relations between the government in Nicosia and Turkish Cypriot officials improving in recent times.
So not a "diplomatic crisis" as such or not just yet but it'll be important that neither side engages in a #blamegame (2/2) #Cyprus
— Mustafa Cirakli (@m_cirakli) May 24, 2016
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's last-minute decision to invite Akinci to the Istanbul summit angered Cypriot officials, who saw it as a double attempt to both undermine the legitimacy of Cyprus' president Nicos Anastasiades, while also bolster the profile of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Turkey.
Turkish-Cypriot Invitation 'Unacceptable'
Officials in Nicosia labeled the developments "unacceptable," while also accusing UN Cyprus envoy Espen Barth Eide of involvement in the incident.
In a statement, Anastasiades said he was committed to working towards unification "provided that it meets the rule of mutual respect… not unilateral moves designed to upgrade the pseudo-state."
"Similar moves by anyone involved, not excluding the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, not only don't help, but rather undermine the ongoing process," he added.
Cyprus has been divided into an internationally-recognized Greek-Cypriot south and Turkish-Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkish troops occupied the northern third of the island.
Will @EspenBarthEide tweet about his role in Turkey's attempt to trap @AnastasiadesCY? https://t.co/PrOCwT5S9F
— Pantis Papaloizou (@PPapaloizou) May 24, 2016
Despite the long division, pro-unification officials are hopeful the good relations between Anastasiades and Akinci could lead to a unification deal.
