Turkey – Conversation between Catherine Colonna and her Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan (August 18, 2023)

On August 17, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna spoke by phone with her Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

She expressed France’s deep concern over the unauthorized construction of a road on Cyprus leading from the occupied northern portion of the island to the village of Pyla via the UN buffer zone.

This type of construction contravenes the authority of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in the buffer zone and jeopardizes the restoration of trust that is vital to the urgent resumption of negotiations to bring about a just and lasting settlement of the Cyprus question within the framework endorsed by the UN Security Council.

The two ministers also discussed the situation in the Black Sea and the issue of Ukrainian grain exports in the wake of Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Initiative.