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Putin to meet Cypriot president to discuss settlement of situation on island

The talks will also touch upon economic cooperation and cooperation in the field of legal assistance

MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis in Moscow on Tuesday, the Kremlin press service reported.

Anastasiadisis now in Russia on a working visit by the invitation of Putin.

"The leaders of the two countries will discuss the most relevant issues of Russian-Cypriot cooperation, primarily trade, economic and cultural-humanitarian areas. They will exchange views on key international problems, including the Cyprus settlement," the Kremlin press service said.

It is expected that a number of bilateral documents will be signed after the talks. Also, the leaders are scheduled to deliver statements for the media.

In an interview with TASS the president of Cyprus said that cooperation agreement that will be signed concern maritime transport, international road transport, IT-technologies.

The talks will also touch upon economic cooperation, cooperation in the field of legal assistance.

On Monday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev met with Nikos Anastasiadis and assured him that Russia considers Cyprus to be its reliable and important partner in Europe. In turn, the president of Cyprus expressed gratitude to the Russian party for its support in resolving the Cyprus problem.

Expectations from the visit

In an interview with the agency, the Cypriot leader noted that he was counting on "a full discussion of a number of bilateral issues of mutual interest with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev." He said he plans to tell the Russian leadership about the latest developments related to efforts to achieve a comprehensive, just and viable settlement of the Cyprus problem, to discuss the present and future status of relations between the EU and Russia, and to exchange views on the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the events in Syria.

Bilateral relations

The first visit of Anastasiadis to Russia and his talks with Putin took place in February 2015. Moscow and Nicosia maintain regular contacts in various fields. Regular exchange of views on issues of bilateral relations, European and regional issues is carried out.

Tourism is one of the main aspects of economic cooperation between the two countries. Annually more than 500,000 Russians visit Cyprus. The peak of the tourist flow - 781,000 people - was registered in 2016. However, the latest data from the local statistical service show that this year this record will be beaten.

In 2016, the trade between Russia and Cyprus fell by 2.5% to $ 295.5 mln. In the first seven months of this year, trade turnover increased by 52.1% compared to the same period last year. Cyprus continues to be one of the main channels for attracting foreign investment, being ahead of the Netherlands.