26/04/2023 10:19
Presidents of Cyprus and France, Nikos Christodoulides and Emmanuel Macron, will have a working lunch next week at the Élysée Palace in Paris, where the former will pay a visit prior to his trip to the UK where he will attend the formal coronation ceremony for King Charles III, that will take place on May 6. The two Presidents will discuss the Cyprus problem, international and EU issues, as well as the two countries' bilateral relations.
Replying to a CNA question about Christodoulides' forthcoming visit to Paris, at Macron's invitation, a French Embassy in Nicosia official said that this is scheduled to take place next week, without however referring to an exact date. According to the Embassy, Christodoulides' first visit to Paris is a follow up of the discussion that the two Presidents had briefly in the margins of the last European Council meeting.
The two Presidents will have a working lunch, in the framework of which they are expected to discuss the details of President Christodoulides' ideas to break the deadlock and enable the return to the negotiating table on the Cyprus problem, the Embassy said.
Moreover, according to the Embassy, Macron and Christodoulides will also touch upon key issues of the international and the EU agenda, such as the war in Ukraine. They will also have the chance to review the excellent bilateral partnership of France and Cyprus, including matters of defence cooperation and education.
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.