The Cyprus government has confirmed that French President Francois Hollande will pay a visit to Cyprus on 9th December.

Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides in a Twitter post on Saturday said the French President will be in Cyprus on 9/12.

Earlier Saturday, the office of the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras in a statement on his meeting with Hollande in Abu Dhabi, said that “in view of the imminent visit of President Hollande to Cyprus, the two men welcomed the resumption of the talks on Cyprus and discussed the developments on the issue”.

It further said that in this framework, the importance of the Cyprus problem in the EU-Turkey relations was underlined as well as the need to end the aggressive rhetoric on the part of Ankara.

The leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, namely President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, decided last Thursday to resume the UN peace talks for a Cyprus solution, following the collapse of two rounds of talks they held in November in Mont Pelerin, Switzerland.

They further decided that they will meet in Geneva on the 9th of January 2017, on the 11th of January, they will present their respective maps and from the 12th of January, a Conference on Cyprus will be convened with the added participation of the guarantor powers, while other relevant parties shall be invited as needed.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Anastasiades and Akinci have been engaged in UN-backed talks since May last year, with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.