US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived this afternoon at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia where he is received by President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades.
The main issue on the agenda is the Cyprus problem, including the economic aspect of a solution as well as issues concerning security and guarantees.
The meeting is also attended by Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, Minister of Finance Harris Georgiades, Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides, Under Secretary to the President Konstantinos Petrides as well as other US officials.
Earlier today, Kerry held a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kasoulides, with whom they discussed the Cyprus problem, bilateral relations and regional issues.
Later on he is expected to make a statement to the press at the Fulbright Center in the UN buffer zone in Nicosia.
Later in the evening the US State Secretary will attend a dinner hosted by Lisa Buttenheim, the UN Secretary General`s Special Representative in Cyprus and Head of the UN Mission. President Anastasiades, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci and UN Secretary General`s Special Advisor on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide will also be present at the dinner. The main issue of the meeting will be the Cyprus talks and the prospects of a solution in the framework of the UN – led negotiations which resumed in May this year.
Kerry is set to meet with Mustafa Akinci in early evening.
The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, is divided by Turkish troops since the Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974. UN led talks, aiming at reunifying the island under a federal political system resumed in May.
CNA/AAR/GV/2015
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY