King Felipe has welcomed the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, at Zarzuela Palace for lunch.
The President is in Spain for a working visit that also saw him meet Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in the Moncloa Palace.
President Nicos Anastasiades was welcomed to the palace by King Felipe, who, after posing on the steps for a short photo op, showed him inside for a brief conversation and a meal.
According to official readouts, the two heads of state talked about the bilateral relations between the two countries and the shared ties that bind them to the European Union, of which Spain has been a member since 1986 and Cyprus since 2004.
The delegation taking part in the meeting was pretty small, in accordance with health safety measures. On the Spanish side, the State Secretary for the European Union and the Spanish Ambassador to Cyprus were the only members present; the Cyprus side was composed of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cyprus’s Ambassador to Spain.
Queen Letizia was also supposed to be present for the meal. However, because the First Lady of Cyprus pulled out of the visit entirely for “personal reasons,” Queen Letizia did not attend either.
First Lady Andri Anastasiades lost her father on 5 December, and it is thought this is the reason why she ultimately decided not to take part in the trip. She would have been the fifth first lady welcomed by King Felipe and Queen Letizia to Spain in 2021, after South Korea’s Kim Jung-sook in June, Colombia’s Maria Juliana Ruiz and Angola’s Ana Afonso Dias in September and Italy’s Laura Mattarella in November.
Cyprus is technically still in a conflict with Turkey over control of the northern part of the island. In 1974, Turkey invaded the island, establishing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the top part of the island; however, the state has only been recognised by Ankara, and Spain has pushed for a diplomatic solution through the UN. They also are in favour of Cyprus’s entrance into NATO, and talks are ongoing for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
