The Greek newspaper TA NEA reported that the Cypriot government has submitted a proposal to Ankara for the opening of a Turkish port to commercial vessels under the Cypriot flag.

According to the report, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, personally presented the proposal to the Turkish leadership. The proposal concerns allowing access to approximately 1,100 Cypriot-flagged ships, effectively lifting the Turkish embargo imposed in 1987.

The report also states that a senior source within the Cypriot government revealed that Nicosia is willing to agree to concessions regarding visa facilitation for Turkish nationals seeking entry into the European Union. However, it was clarified that this would apply exclusively to Turkish businesspeople.

It is further noted that "from the Cypriot side, there remains some reservation about whether Turkey genuinely intends to proceed based on Christodoulides' proposal." It is added that if "Turkey truly shows willingness to move forward in practice, Nicosia is ready."

Speaking on the Proino Dromologio radio program, government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis emphasized that the proposal falls within President Christodoulides' broader initiatives to promote greater European Union involvement in the Cyprus issue and to leverage EU-Turkey relations.

Letymbiotis also stressed that lifting the restrictions on Cypriot ships is an obligation Turkey must fulfill. He added that the Cypriot government is working towards a full update of the EU-Turkey framework, underlining that the core of progress in EU-Turkey relations must center on Turkey's Cyprus-related obligations and its alignment with international law.