Cyprob mobility ramps up as UK, Greek officials to visit Cyprus

With the UK Foreign Secretary expected in Cyprus on Thursday, the visit of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was also confirmed on Wednesday for February 8. Mitsotakis is expected to discuss recent developments on the Cyprus issue with the country’s president, Nicos Anastasiades.

On Tuesday, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that a Cyprus peace settlement in line with the long-established formula of federation is off the table in any future peace talks and any agreement should be negotiated between two equal sovereign states.

Mitsotakis will then fly to Israel for a meeting with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. Talks are expected to focus on bilateral relations and developments in the wider region.

The island is also expecting the UK Foreign Secretary Donimic Raab on Thursday, when he will hold a string of meetings with officials of both sides as well as with the UNSG’s Special Representative Elizabeth Spehar.

A press release issued by the British High Commission in Nicosia on Wednesday said Raab’s contacts will focus on the prospects of the upcoming UN-led informal summit on the Cyprus Problem expected to be held next month.

Raab “will reiterate the UK’s support for achieving a just and lasting settlement of the division of the island and reaffirm the UK’s commitment to the bilateral relationship during talks with President Nicos Anastasiades,” the press release said.

“We will be working closely with our Cypriot partners to drive forward a successful resolution to the conflict in Cyprus at UN talks in the next few weeks,” the Foreign Secretary said ahead of the visit.