President Nikos Christodoulides “has become a prisoner of rising ultranationalism”, Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor Mehmet Harmanci said on Thursday, as he reflected on his decision to withdraw from last month’s Cyprus Forum after its organisers ceased referring to him as a mayor.

He told newspaper Yeniduzen that Christodoulides is also a prisoner of Elam, the political party which had first expressed disgust at the Cyprus Forum’s initial decision to invite him to attend the event, but stressed that he also received support from swathes of the Greek Cypriot community.