President Anastasiades begins meetings in New York

President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, currently in New York to take part in the UN General Assembly, held a series of meetings on Sunday with members of the American-Jewish Lobby and the overseas Cypriots.

Anastasiades met with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and now Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa whom he briefed on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue. Ros Lehtinen is a fervent supporter of the Cyprus cause and together with congressmen Ted Deutch, Gus Billirakis and John Sarbanes they tabled a motion calling for an end to the division of Cyprus and stressing cooperation between the US and Cyprus.

President Anastasiades also met with a delegation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which included its chairman Michael Kassen.

The meeting, which was held in the presence of Government Spokesman Christos Stylianides, Ambassadors Nicos Emiliou and George Shakalli and the director of the President’s office Nicos Christodoulides, examined the situation in the Middle East and efforts to resume the talks on Cyprus.

President Anastasiades presented the latest developments on the Cyprus issue and they also examined the Cyprus – Israel relations and ways to deepen relations in the field of energy cooperation.

On Sunday evening, President Anastasiades had a working dinner with the executive council of the Cyprus Federation of America where he informed them on the situation of the Cyprus economy and efforts to revive it as well as deliberations to restart the bicommunal talks under the UN aegis.

On Monday, President Anastasiades will meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon on the sidelines of the 68th UN General Assembly. He will also attend a working lunch with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.