Pompeo: Turkish Cypriots want a solution, but Ankara does not share that will

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday evening (3 November) that while Turkish Cypriots are in favour of finding a solution to the Cyprus problem, Turkey’s leadership does not appear to share the same desire – making a resolution unlikely in the near future.

Speaking at a discussion marking the close of the first day of the Economist Annual Conference in Nicosia, Pompeo, who now serves as Executive Chairman of Impact Investments, offered a broad assessment of US and Western relations with Turkey, regional stability, and the challenges facing the international order.

“The Turkish Cypriots want a solution, but the Turkish leadership does not seem to have the same wish. I suspect we will not easily see a resolution to the Cyprus problem,” Pompeo said, according to a press release from the organisers.

‘Complicated relationship’ with Turkey

Pompeo described the relationship between the West and Ankara as “complicated,” noting that Western allies have “failed to convince Turkey that it cannot be a NATO member while simultaneously maintaining Russian weapons systems – which it still possesses.”

At the same time, he acknowledged Turkey’s active regional posture, pointing out that it remains “the only country in the area willing to put troops on the ground” in conflict zones such as Syria and Gaza.

“I hope that Turkey will, at some point, become a more European country,” he remarked.

Pompeo served as the 70th U.S. Secretary of State from 26 April to 20 January 2021, during the final years of the Trump administration.

Erdoğan reiterates Turkish hard line

The former Secretary of State’s remarks come at a time of heightened diplomatic focus on the Eastern Mediterranean, where questions of energy cooperation, security, and Cyprus’s stalled reunification process continue to dominate. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated that Turkey will “never abandon the Turkish Cypriot people”, calling on the Islamic world to strengthen its support for the self-declared ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (‘TRNC’).

His remarks came during the 41st Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), held in Ankara on Monday.

Speaking before the committee, Erdoğan claimed that “strong signals” were emerging of attempts to include Cyprus “on the menu of a new imperialist game being set up in the region”. He warned that the island risked becoming a target of wider geopolitical manoeuvring and urged OIC member states to show “greater solidarity” with the Turkish Cypriots.

“Among us today are our brothers from the TRNC. I welcome them with all my heart,” Erdoğan said, insisting that the Turkish Cypriot people were “an inseparable part of the Islamic world” who had suffered from “unjust, unlawful and baseless isolation” for decades.

He praised the Turkish Cypriots for not succumbing to “pressure” and for defending their “sovereign equality”, asserting that their determination to live “with dignity in their own homeland” would not be compromised.

“I expect you to lend even more support to the Turkish Cypriots’ struggle for rights, freedom and justice on the basis of a two-state solution,” he told fellow OIC leaders.

Reaffirming Ankara’s position, Erdoğan concluded: “Turkey, as the motherland and guarantor power, will never leave the Turkish Cypriot people alone. We will continue to stand by them in their just struggle.”

Christodoulides: ‘The only one behaving imperialistically is Turkey’

Responding to Erdoğan’s comments, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides emphasised that Nicosia remains ready “at any time” for the resumption of peace talks within the framework of United Nations parameters.

Speaking to reporters in Nicosia before inaugurating the Cyprus branch of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Christodoulides said the government continues to work towards “positive developments” that could lead to the renewal of Cyprus negotiations.

He dismissed suggestions that the process was being delayed until 2026, when Cyprus will hold the rotating Presidency of the EU Council, stressing that the two issues “do not affect each other”.

“It would have been good if the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus, Ms. Holguín, had been able to visit the island in early November as planned, but this was not possible for reasons that are well known,” the President noted.

Asked about Erdoğan’s motives for the delay, Christodoulides replied: “I cannot know what Erdoğan is doing; what I know is what we are doing. We are ready at any time. The delay, in quotation marks or without, is not caused by our side.”

The President also reiterated his willingness to meet with the new Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, recalling that he had offered to meet “even the next day” after their first contact.

He clarified that any such meeting would take place “within the framework of the United Nations”, as had been the case with previous encounters facilitated by the UN.

Commenting on Erdoğan’s assertion that Cyprus was being drawn into a “new imperialist game” and that the solution lies in two states, Christodoulides responded pointedly:

“The only one behaving imperialistically in the region, trying to implement a neo-Ottoman approach, is Turkey. One should ask all neighbouring states what their view is of Turkey’s policy in the region.” regional discussions.

Caption: Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaking at a discussion marking the close of the first day of the Economist Annual Conference in Nicosia, 3 November 2025 [@AndAnd73 on X]