Over a dinner of Cypriot salad, milk-fed lamb and halloumi-stuffed ravioli, leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed the economic consequences of the Iran war. They left with no obvious solutions.
“It was just an assessment on the topic,” Romanian President Nicușor Dan told POLITICO when asked about talks on the Strait of Hormuz, where oil and gas tankers remain stranded as a standoff between the U.S. and Iran continues. Still, “it was a good discussion on the situation in the Middle East and the energy consequences.”
Walking to dinner, the leaders meandered en masse before peeling off into casual groups. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the EU’s special guest, was in deep conversation with Macron. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa made another duo. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides strolled together, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten chatted.
If they looked out the window from their seaside hideaway, they would have been reminded the summit comes at a tense moment for Cyprus, which has been targeted by drones and seen its airspace closed as the conflict spiraled.
Special forces patrolled the coastline in boats with mounted machine guns. The patrolling warship formed part of a naval support group that includes the British destroyer HMS Dragon.
‘We are too close’
The absence of foreign visitors is palpable in the Cypriot capital, with restaurants and shops shuttered.