Australia PM writes to Turkey's Erdogan about COP31 hosting standoff

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he wrote to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to resolve a long-running tussle over who will host next year's COP31 summit.



Australia and Turkey submitted bids in 2022 to host the United Nations climate conference and both countries have refused to concede to the other ever since.



Asked on Sunday if he thought Australia would end up as host, Albanese said: "There's no real process for finalising the matter. I've written to President Erdogan of Türkiye, we're continuing to engage."



"It's hard when there's no consensus, when you've got two bids. Our bid, of course, is in partnership with the Pacific," Albanese added, according to an official transcript of remarks on Sky News television.



A regional diplomatic bloc of 18 countries, the Pacific Islands Forum, is backing Australia's bid. Several Pacific island nations are at risk from rising seas.

Albanese said Australia wanted to ensure Pacific island nations' interests are protected.