US Secretary of State to visit Cyprus in early January

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to visit Cyprus during the first week of January in the last leg of a trip he will make to Asia.

The official announcement of the visit is expected to be made by the US State Department on Monday. Pompeo will be leaving the US just after New Year`s Day and will be back on January 8.

According to well-informed sources in Washington, US-Cyprus bilateral relations in light of the lifting of the 1987 arms embargo and the partnership pact on cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean will be the focus of the visit.

A bilateral agreement is expected to be signed, an issue that was discussed during Cyprus Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides’ recent visit to Washington.

Pompeo, who is soon leaving the State Department to seek a seat in the Senate, will meet with his counterpart Christodoulides and is expected to be received by Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades.

He is also expected to meet with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, under similar arrangements made for Joe Biden’s visit in May 2014. (source CNA)