A sharp confrontation broke out at the Economist Government Roundtable in Athens on Wednesday, after Greek politician An...

A sharp confrontation broke out at the Economist Government Roundtable in Athens on Wednesday, after Greek politician Anna Diamantopoulou called Cyprus an occupied country in front of former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Diamantopoulou, speaking on a panel that included Davutoglu, Ukraine's Deputy PM Alona Shkrum, former German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, and Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Hatzvasiliou, made her position clear: "We must not forget that we have one country occupied by Russia and one country occupied by Turkey." She argued that Europe cannot condemn Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory while ignoring the fact that Turkey, a candidate EU member, occupies the territory of Cyprus, an actual EU member state. She said the Copenhagen criteria are not bureaucracy but the political and values foundation of the EU, and that principles cannot be applied selectively. Davutoglu responded provocatively to her remarks, which in turn drew a sharp reaction from Deputy Foreign Minister Hatzvasiliou, who was also seated on the panel. The exchange significantly raised the temperature at what is typically a diplomatic forum. Diamantopoulou framed the issue as one of consistency and credibility for the EU itself, arguing that Brussels cannot apply one standard to Russia and a different one to Turkey simply because the Turkish case is politically inconvenient. The 30th annual Economist Government Roundtable brought together senior political figures from across Europe and Turkey for discussions on EU integration and geopolitics. #Cyprus #Greece #Turkey