POLITICS: Cyprus and Russia to discuss East Med issues

Cyprus-Russia bilateral ties, relations between the EU and Moscow as well as developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region will be the focus of the talks which Cypriot Foreign Minister, Nikos Christodoulides, will have with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

 Christodoulides told the Cyprus News Agency that during their February 22 meeting in Moscow, the two ministers will have the opportunity to review bilateral relations covering a broad spectrum of issues and exchange views on them.

They will discuss strained EU-Russia relations, their current state of affairs, the prospects as well as the challenges regarding this issue, and how they must be addressed.

Also, on the packed agenda is developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and more specifically about the challenges in the region and how the situation is unfolding.

 The Cyprus problem and efforts for the resumption of unification talks, as well as the issue of the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) will also be discussed.

Christodoulides and Lavrov will first have a tete-a-tete meeting scheduled to begin at 11 am local time. Their private meeting will be followed by expanded talks between delegations of the two sides.