Prountzos Withdraws From Cyprus Forum in Solidarity With Harmancı

Harmancı had initially been listed as “Mayor of Nicosia Turkish Municipality” on the Cyprus Forum 2026 program. Following objections from the far-right ELAM party, his title was changed to “leader of the Turkish Cypriot community in Nicosia.” Harmancı subsequently declined to attend the event, refusing to accept the revised title.

Cyprus Forum said in a statement that the possibility of withdrawing Harmancı’s invitation had never been considered.

The forum noted that the two mayors had attended the event together over the past two years, stressing the importance of maintaining dialogue between the two communities.

According to the statement, a political party had called this year for Harmancı’s invitation to be withdrawn, but the forum said this would never have happened.

The forum also said it intervened after it became clear that the title used for Harmancı in a preliminary program published on its website was not accepted by the Greek Cypriot side. It noted that the information in the program had been provided by the speakers themselves.

Following the controversy, Harmancı sent a letter informing the forum that he would not attend the event. Prountzos subsequently informed the organizers today that he had made the same decision in solidarity with Harmancı.

Cyprus Forum said it understood and respected the decisions of both mayors.

“We apologize if our actions have undermined the bicommunal cooperation in which we deeply believe,” the forum said.

The forum also announced that this year’s Peace and Democracy Award would again be presented to one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot.

It added that more than 50 sessions featuring 220 speakers would address a range of political issues.

Reaffirming its commitment to maintaining dialogue between the two communities, Cyprus Forum said: “Our door will remain open. We will continue to encourage all sides to sit at the same table and seek solutions to every difficult issue.”

The forum acknowledged that the controversy may have harmed bicommunal cooperation and apologized if this had occurred.