Cypriot President meets Russian FM

President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades discussed on Tuesday his proposal for a resumption of the Cyprus talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The two, who met on the sidelines of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, also discussed economic issues and bilateral matters.

“I want to express the gratitude of the people of Cyprus for their long-term support on issues concerning the Cyprus problem and the stance which the Security Council maintains”, said Anastasiades.

Regarding the President’s proposal of confidence building measures, Anastasiades said that if these measures, as he told Lavrov, are decided, they will provide a new dynamic.

Russia remains supportive of anything is agreed between the two sides, Anastasiades added.

The Cypriot president further said that preparations continue for his visit to Moscow in the first term of 2014 as well as Vladimir Putin’s visit to Cyprus.

During the meeting, there was also a discussion on the Cyprus-Russia meeting that will be held in Moscow on economic issues from 7-8 November, as well as a discussion on other sectors of cooperation such as enhancing relations in the economic, cultural and tourism fields as well as other issues of bilateral interest.

President Anastasiades said he thanked Lavrov for the restructuring of Cyprus’ debt to Russia.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. UN-led talks were halted in the summer of 2012 by the Turkish Cypriot side. It is widely expected they will resume later this month, possibly in October.

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