Pompeo’s visit to Cyprus: a last-minute decision, diplomatic sources say

Diplomatic sources characterize the inclusion of Cyprus in the trip of the American Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to Qatar as a last-minute decision. So far, the State Department has not issued an official announcement about Mr. Pompeo’s contacts on Saturday in Cyprus, where he will stay for about three hours.

A diplomatic source said Mr. Pompeo will be received by the President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiadis, at the Presidential Palace at 7:30 pm and the meeting will be attended by Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulidis. It has not yet been finalized whether a bilateral agreement will be signed or whether a meeting with Mustafa Akinci will be held.

Nicosia was informed about Pompeo’s visit yesterday, during the telephone conversation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Christodoulidis, with the US Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Reeker. However, the realization of Pompeo’s visit to Cyprus, which was canceled in January, was referred to during the telephone conversation between the US Secretary of State and the President of the Republic on September 1, without setting certain dates.

In a conversation he had last night with the journalists who accompanied him on the plane on a flight to Doha, Mr. Pompeo reminded that he was planning to visit Cyprus, but the visit was cancelled, so he is doing it now.

Also read: The US announced the partial lifting of the arms embargo on Cyprus

“It’s also the case that the things that are taking place today in the Eastern Mediterranean are important and I want to have the chance to talk to the leaders there in Cyprus about their perspective, their objectives, the things they would like to do. The President’s (Trump) been very clear and he’s asked – he’s spoken to President Erdogan, he’s spoken to Prime Minister Mitsotakis – and in each case he’s said that this has to – the disputes, the maritime disputes have to be resolved in a way that is diplomatic and peaceful.”

The US Secretary of State said he would work on it, trying to make sure he understood the dangers from the perspective of the people of Cyprus. “And to take this into account as we continue to work on the challenges that the Eastern Mediterranean is presenting today. It’s something we’re very focused on,” he said.

Mr Pompeo said the Germans had done a good job of diplomatically trying to get them to start talks on how to proceed. “We hope that there will be real talks and we hope that the military personnel there will be withdrawn so that these talks can take place.”

The Foreign Minister was also asked about the lifting of the embargo, which, as the journalist reported, bothered Erdogan.

“It was something (planned) for a long time. We’d been working on it for some time. It has been consistent with American policy for a long time. It was just the right time to make that decision. So we completed our analysis, made sure we took into account all the associated risks, and quickly overcame it.”

The news about the visit was first revealed by the French Agency (AFP).

Also read: US support of Cyprus’ sovereign rights reaffirmed in Christodoulides – Hale meeting