Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos held what he described as a “frank exchange” with Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly in New York.

He described the meeting as “good”, while Bayramov said that “we followed up on recent years’ efforts in political dialogue between the two countries on issues of personal interest”.

“We also exchanged views on the partnership between Azerbaijan and the European Union, and regional developments,” he said.

Azerbaijan has historically straddled Cyprus’ political divide, with Bayramov having also met Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu on the sidelines of the Antalya diplomacy forum in April, and the country’s President Ilham Aliyev having met Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman at the same event.

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The country’s government referred to Erhurman as the “president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” in its official release after he met Aliyev.

Aliyev has previously used the same title to refer to Erhurman’s predecessor as Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, and also promised on the sidelines of last year’s Antalya diplomacy forum to ensure that the Turkish Cypriot authorities will gain international recognition as a state in their own right.

“We are only thinking about how we can help our brothers protect their state … They deserve this in terms of history and what they have done,” he said.

Then speaking on Cyprus’ history, he pointed out that at the 2004 Annan Plan referendum, which would have reunited Cyprus if passed, the majority of Turkish Cypriots voted in favour but the majority of Greek Cypriots voted against.

‘We will ensure your country is established as an independent state’

“Look, what happened? The Greek Cypriot side was accepted into the European Union. Is this fair? So, was this a clear example of double standards and politicians do not want to talk about it. So, they do not want to cause them any headaches and if they talk about this, they may get other headaches,” he said.

“That is why I want to tell our brothers in North Cyprus that we will always be with you and we will ensure that your country is established as an independent state and is recognised by the international community.”

However, Kombos and Bayramov have met on previous occasions, including on the sidelines of the 2024 Cop29 summit in Baku, with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides saying at the time that that meeting was “beyond symbolism … of particular essential importance.”

The meetings with Kombos, as well as Christodoulides’ reception in Baku in 2024 as the president of Cyprus, coupled with the country’s rhetorical support of a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem, see the country occupy a unique space with regard to its relations with Cyprus and its two sides.