Cyprus Foreign Minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, meets on Friday in Paris, where he is paying a working visit, his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, with whom he will exchange views on a broad spectrum of issues, focusing on bilateral, regional and international issues, and with whom he will sign a bilateral agreement for the evacuation of French nationals from regions in crisis which are close to Cyprus.
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry, the two Ministers will assess the bilateral relations and the cooperation between Cyprus and France and will look into practical ways of further deepening them in a broad spectrum of fields as education, trade, energy, security and defence.
Kasoulides will brief Colonna about Nicosia’s perception on the next steps in the Cyprus problem, while the two officials will exchange views on the situation in Ukraine, after the Russian invasion of the country, and the complications caused in the food sector and as regards energy supplies. Moreover, they will focus on developments in Syria, Lebanon and Libya.
After the end of their talks, the two Ministers will sign a bilateral agreement for the evacuation of French nationals from regions in crisis which are close to Cyprus.
During his stay in Paris, Kasoulides will also meet with the Secretary of State for European affairs, Laurence Boone.
He will return to Cyprus on Saturday.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Source: Cyprus News Agency