The President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulidis will be received by Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street in the late afternoon.
A source from Whitehall, the heart of the British Government, told KYPE that Christodoulides' visit provides the opportunity that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was looking for for a first bilateral contact, as the President of the Republic had not been able to attend the summit of its leaders of the European Political Community, hosted in mid-July at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire by the newly elected Keir Starmer.
When asked if he sees a realistic prospect of progress in the Cyprus issue, in view of tomorrow's meeting in New York, the same source commented "there is always hope".
He added that for this reason London continues to urge all sides to show flexibility. He estimated that this flexibility is possible, commenting: "One can notice, say, that the Turkish Cypriot side no longer talks about sovereign equality as a term for negotiations, but we see it referring to 3D (pp. direct flights, direct trade , direct contacts)'.
The same source emphasized that the position of the United Kingdom in favor of a solution within the parameters of the United Nations on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality has not changed at all and added that the United Kingdom is monitoring the developments and is in contact with all sides.
Beyond the Cyprus issue, both sides want to discuss the wide range of bilateral relations, agreeing that in recent years these have been significantly upgraded.
Furthermore, London also emphasizes the role of Cyprus as a humanitarian anchor in the crisis in the Middle East, with Mr. Starmer wanting to
