FM visits Washington in February

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides will pay a visit to Washington at the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks on February 1 at the State Department.

The Cyprus News Agency said Kasoulides would leave for the US on January 30 and hold meetings on February 1-2.

The programme of his meetings has not been finalised yet, but he is expected to meet other political actors as Senators.

Kasoulides is expected to discuss with Blinken and his other US interlocutors the US-Cyprus bilateral relations, the Cyprus problem, Energy issues related to the Eastern Mediterranean region and other international matters.

His visit to Washington comes after the Biden administration told Nicosia it would not support the ambitious EastMed gas pipeline to Europe also signed by Greece and Israel.

Meanwhile, Kasoulides will have on January 24 his first meeting with the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Brussels, where he will participate in a Foreign Affairs Council meeting.

The meeting between Kasoulides and Borrell comes after his appointment as Cyprus Foreign Minister.

They are expected to discuss the Cyprus problem and issues on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council.

The last round of UN-backed Cyprus negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, collapsed in failure.