LOS ANGELES, CA – On Monday, November 20th, Board Members of the American Hellenic Council hosted Cypriot Ambassador Leonidas Pantelides at offices in Culver City to discuss the latest developments on the Cyprus question. The Ambassador was accompanied by his wife Diana and the Honorary Consul General of Cyprus Andreas Kyprianides, who is one of the founders of the Council, as well as his wife Mika.

Currently in Los Angeles as a guest scholar at the University of Southern California. The Ambassador spoke at length about the recent Crans-Montana Peace Conference, as well as the different obstacles surrounding future negotiations, before interacting with attendees in an informal, off the record, conversation moderated by AHC Chairman Menas Kafatos.

Ambassador Pantelides, who has served as the Ambassador of Cyprus to the United States since June 2016, studied Philosophy and holds a Ph.D. from the Interdisciplinary Studies Department of the University of Kent, Canterbury, England. He has had a long and prestigious diplomatic career, in which he has had the distinct privilege of serving as former Cypriot Ambassador to Sweden, Greece, and Russia, as well as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Nations at Geneva. Amongst his many accomplishments, the Ambassador is also a published author and professor, serving on the Advisory Board of the Diplomatic Academy, University of Nicosia.

“The American Hellenic Council is a non-partisan advocacy organization, which champions Hellenic values and culture. Our primary goal is to promote Hellenism in the United States by supporting the cultural activities of the Hellenic-American community of Southern California and to raise public awareness of issues concerning the Eastern Mediterranean. AHC promotes democracy, human rights, and peace in Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, by informing the American public and public officials about on-going issues and conflicts, specifically about Greece and Cyprus,”AHC press release says.