US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to visit Cyprus during the first week of January, as the last leg of a trip he will make to Asia.

The official announcement of the visit is expected to be made by the State Department on Monday. Pompeo will be leaving the US just after New Year`s Day and will be back on January 8.

According to well-informed sources in the US capital, US-Cyprus bilateral relations in light of the lifting of the arms embargo and the partnership pact on cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as Cyprus issue, will be on the agenda of the visit.

A bilateral agreement is expected to be signed, an issue that was discussed during Cyprus Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides’ recent visit to Washington.

Pompeo, who is soon leaving the State Department to seek a seat in the Senate, will meet with his counterpart Christodoulides, and is expected to be received by Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades.

He is also expected to meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, under similar arrangements made for Joe Biden’s visit in May 2014.
 
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.