Nicosia Mayor protests unacceptable wording in invitation

Mayor of Nicosia Eleni Mavrou, in a letter to the organisers of the Fourth World Mayors’ Summit, hosted in Constantinople from April 12 to 15, stresses that the internationally recognised and legal municipal authority of the capital of Cyprus is the Nicosia Municipality and that the invitation sent to her should have been addressed to the Mayor of Nicosia and not to ”the Mayor of the Greek Cypriot Municipality.”
Speaking to CNA, Mavrou noted that “this invitation does not respond to the internationally recognised facts” and therefore she does not intend to participate in the Summit unless a correction is made and she is invited as the Mayor of Nicosia.
Mavrou added that she has sent a letter to the organisers as well as the participants of the Summit, expressing the deep wish for participation and cooperation, noting however that this cannot happen given the current situation.
“We request that you follow the internationally recognised approach and terminology used for the Municipality of Nicosia,” Mavrou says, noting that there has not yet been a reply by the organisers.
The approach of the Republic of Cyprus, she indicated, is that institutions that derive from illegal procedures, such as the voting for “mayors” in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, cannot be considered as legal.
Noting the importance of cooperation with the Turkish Cypriot side, she further stressed that such incidents only cause tension between the communities.
“It is important for one to understand that such issues cannot be settled on a local level but through the comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem for which we must all make efforts,” the mayor of Nicosia concluded.