President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades will participate in the 68th UN General Assembly, that takes place in New York.
The Cypriot President arrived in New York on Saturday from London, where he paid a visit on Friday to the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain in London, and addressed a gathering of the London Cypriot community.
President Anastasiades will hold a series of bilateral meetings in New York before leaving for Washington where he will meet with Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden.
The 68th UN General Assembly takes place with the participation of 130 heads of state and government and 60 Foreign Ministers. The official opening of the Assembly will take place on Tuesday.
Among the top issues to be discussed will be the recent developments in Syria and the Middle East region, the situation in Afghanistan, Egypt and other African countries, sustainable development, the fight against hunger, as well as the impact of climate change.
Moreover, three high-level meetings will take place, as well as a high level political forum for the millennium goals.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General’s Spokesperson told reporters yesterday that UNSG’s Special Advisor for Cyprus, Alexander Downer, continues his work on the Cyprus issue.
Asked which problem is more difficult, the Cyprus problem or the name dispute of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Spokesman said that “any long-running topics that the United Nations has been working on along with Member States ideally need to be resolved”.
The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, is divided since the Turkish invasion in 1974. Turkish troops continue until today to occupy 37% of the Cyprus Republic’s territory, despite numerous UNSC resolutions.
Cyprus talks, under the UN auspices, were interrupted by the Turkish side in 2012 because Cyprus assumed the six monthly rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
Talks are expected to resume in October