The United States remains firmly in favor of supporting a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation in Cyprus and will continue to work in that direction, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Tuesday, welcoming Cypriot counterpart Ioannis Kassoulis to Wassund. In statements before their meeting, Mr. Blinken also stressed that “the bilateral relationship is stronger than ever”, with Mr. Kasoulidis replying that he intends to use their meeting to explore areas where they can still do the relationship. stronger.
State Department Spokesman Ned Price said after the meeting that Mr. Blinken congratulated Mr. Kasoulides on his return to the State Department and reiterated the US commitment to deepen cooperation with the Republic of Cyprus through of the 3 + 1 mechanism with Greece and Israel.
Blinken and Kasoulides “discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues, including the importance of coordinating actions in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. “They also stressed the importance of increasing scientific cooperation on issues such as climate change and emerging technology through the forthcoming signing of a bilateral Science and Technology Agreement,” Mr Price added.
Great to meet with Republic of Cyprus Foreign Minister @IKasoulides in Washington today for productive discussions on our bilateral relationship as well as regional security issues, including Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. pic.twitter.com/VeUaJTUL20
– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) February 1, 2022
He also said that Mr. Blinken expressed US continued support for the Cypriot leadership, under the auspices of the UN, efforts to reunite the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality for the benefit of all Cypriots.
In statements before the meeting, Mr. Blinken welcomed Mr. Kasoulidis to the State Department, referring to “familiar territory” for the Cypriot Foreign Minister. “The Secretary of State recently took over, but for the third time,” he said, expressing satisfaction with the US-Cyprus relationship.
“I think the bilateral relationship is stronger than ever. We see cooperation in a whole range of areas, including security but also science and technology. “It really runs through the whole range,” Mr Blinken said.
Referring to the efforts for the settlement of the Cyprus problem, the American Foreign Minister said that “we remain resolutely in favor of the support of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and we will continue to work in this direction. “And I have to say that we were pleased with the renewal of the mandate at the United Nations just a week ago.”
He stressed that they had a lot to talk about, which he said “reflects the fact that on so many different levels this relationship has become broader and deeper.”
Mr. Kasoulidis, for his part, stated that he intends to use this meeting to identify and explore areas where they can make this relationship even stronger and even deeper.
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