Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, who is in New York to participate in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, will meet on Monday with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi and with the leadership of the American Jewish organization AIPAC.

In statements after his arrival to New York on Sunday, Anastasiades said that a Conference on Cyprus is not feasible at a time when the country is threatened by Turkey. Moreover, he underlined that he has the political will and determination to contribute to efforts to draft the terms of reference that will allow the resumption of a constructive dialogue.
 
“This year’s General Assembly coincides with the UN effort to agree on the terms of reference allowing the resumption of a constructive dialogue. I come forward with determination and political will to contribute to what we are trying to achieve since the talks in Crans Montana failed”, the President said.
 
Noting that this week each side will be tested, the President said he did not believe that the Greek Cypriot side will be the one to topple the UNSG’s initiative.

“What I want to stress is that I remain committed to everything that we have agreed with (Mustafa) Akinci on the 9th August during our informal meeting , that I insist on what I have accepted which is nothing other than the first document which Mrs. Lute prepared on the first day”, ie 2nd September.

The UNSG`s special envoy Jane Holl Lute at the beginning of September six rounds of separate meetings with President Anastaiades and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, in an effort to conclude the terms of reference that would pave the way for the resumption of the Cyprus talks. However, she left the island., after a social gathering in the presence of the two leaders, without accomplishing this goal.
 
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Turkey has ignored numerous UN resolutions calling for the withdrawal of the Turkish troops and respect of the integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.  Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The last round of negotiations, in the summer of 2017, at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

According to his programme in New York, on 24 September, President Anastasiades, accompanied by his wife Andri Anastasiades, will attend a reception hosted by the UN Secretary-General for heads of state participating in the General Assembly.

The President of the Republic will then hold a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev. Subsequently, President Anastasiades will attend a lunch hosted by the UN Secretary-General in honor of the heads of state, and in the evening he will attend, along with his wife, the reception hosted by the President of the United States of America and his wife.

The President of the Republic will address the General Assembly on 26 September and subsequently, he will hold a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, and later on with the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

In the evening, on the same day, the President will attend a dinner hosted by the Federation of Cypriot-American Organizations.
On 27 September, the President of the Republic will meet with the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

The President will subsequently meet with Archbishop Elpidophoros of America at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
President Anastasiades will then attend a lunch with the Permanent Representatives of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council.

The President is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides and the Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou.

The President of the Republic will return to Cyprus on 29 September.