US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in south Cyprus for a visit, North Cyprus angered that he did not visit the TRNC

Mike Pompeo in cyprus (Photo source: Cyprus Mail)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Nicosia, southern Cyprus on Saturday night for a meeting with Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades but Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci is not happy that Pompeo will not being visiting the North.

Pompeo travelled to Cyprus from Doha where he attended the Afghanistan peace conference earlier on Saturday.

According to report by Cyprus Mail on Saturday, Pompeo arrived the island from Larnaca airport by motorcade and then made the journey journey to Nicosia.

He will meet Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palcae where they will discuss issues focusing on Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean, the enhancement of Cyprus-US relations, and the Cyprus problem. 

In statements to the media, he said that he was visiting Cyprus to seek a peaceful solution to mounting Mediterranean tensions and called on Turkey to pull back its forces. 

The dispute “has to be resolved in a way that’s diplomatic and peaceful, Pompeo told reporters on Friday.

So, I’ll be working on that project as well, trying to make sure that I understand the risks that are associated from the people of Cyprus’ perspective,” he said.

Anastasiades and Pompeo are expected to make statements to the media after their talks.

Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci said it was wrong of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to not meet with him during his visit to Cyprus on Saturday.

According to Akinci’s spokesman Baris Burcu, the Turkish Cypriot leader told the US ambassador Judith Garber over the phone that Pompeo should have sought a meeting with him, just as former secretary of state John Kerry did during his visit to the island in late 2015.

Burcu said the ambassador offered Akinci a phone call with Pompeo but the former rejected the option as it was ‘insufficient and inappropriate’.  

Garber told Akinci, Pompeo would be unable to meet with him due to time constraints, Burcu said.

The problems in the Eastern Mediterranean cannot be helped by only receiving meeting with the Greek Cypriot side and obtaining unilateral information, Burcu added.

Akinci was also sidelined by top EU diplomatic envoy Josep Borrell during his visit to Cyprus in June.  

The Turkish Cypriot leader also expressed his dissatisfaction at the time over a phone call he had with Borrell, following the visit.