PROVISIONAL INFORMATION ON CYPRIOT PRESENCE AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L NICOSIA 000486 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, IO/UNP E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/27/2019 TAGS: KSEP PREL OTRA OVIP CY SUBJECT: PROVISIONAL INFORMATION ON CYPRIOT PRESENCE AT 64TH UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY REF: SECSTATE 68590 Classified By: Charge d'affaires, a.i., Jonathan Cohen for reasons 1.4( b) and 1.4(d) ¶1. (SBU) Provisional information regarding Cypriot VIP attendance at the 64th UN General Assembly appears below. Post will continue to engage Presidency and MFA contacts to ascertain final information, providing Department and other addressees updates as appropriate. ¶2. (SBU) Tentative Attendees: President Demetris Christofias (head of state/government) -- Arrives NYC from Cyprus on 20 September. Departs NYC for Cyprus 27 September. -- President will be present for the General Debate. -- President Christofias will be joined by his wife, Elsie Christofias. -- Speaks English, no interpretation in bilateral/multilateral meetings needed. Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou -- Accompanies President Christofias throughout, with same arrival/departure information. -- Will support President at General Debate. -- Speaks English, no interpretation in bilateral/multilateral meetings needed. Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou -- Accompanies President Christofias throughout, with same arrival/departure information. -- Mr. Stefanou will not be accompanied by his spouse. -- Speaks English, no interpretation in bilateral/multilateral meetings needed. ¶3. (C) Should pull asides and/or meetings with the Secretary on the margins of UNGA prove possible, we believe that the Secretary should meet (separately) with both President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to maintain the USG's image as a fair broker and sustain the positive momentum in the on-going UN-brokered peace talks. A meeting with only President Christofias, or with Talat, for that matter, will give the impression to the sides that the US is playing favorites. Post notes, as way of background, that in the context of the UN-brokered negotiations, Talat and Christofias are "equals" and referred to respectively as the "leader of the Turkish Cypriot community" and "leader of the Greek Cypriot community." ¶4. (C) To our knowledge Talat, at present, has no plans to attend UNGA. If a meeting with the Secretary proves possible, however, we believe that Talat could and would go to NY on short notice. Cohen