Cypriot President to pay unprecedented visit to Turkey

Cyprus's President Nicos Anastasiades will pay an unprecedented visit to Turkey in May - a country that recognizes neither him nor the state he leads, he said on Thursday.

This will be the first time a Cypriot president visits Turkey since the early 1960s when then President Archbishop Makarios traveled to Ankara soon after Cyprus became an independent state.

Turkey occupied the northern part of Cyprus in 1974, in reaction to a coup by the military rulers of Greece at the time and has since withdrawn recognition of Cyprus, calling it "the Greek Cypriot administration" or "the administration of south Cyprus".

Turkey recognizes instead a breakaway so-called state it set up after its occupation of northern Cyprus.

The breakaway entity is being entirely funded by Turkey which maintains 40,000 troops on the island.

Anastasiades said that he was invited by the United Nations Secretary General to attend the World Humanitarian Summit on May 23 and 24 in Istanbul.

"Of course I will attend the Summit," he said when asked by journalists whether he will travel to Turkey.

President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci are currently engaged in UN-brokered negotiations seeking an agreement to reunify Cyprus under a federal state. They both have reported good progress despite disagreement on some core issues.

Analysts in Nicosia theorized that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon may be planning to arrange for Anastasiades to meet high standing officials of the Turkish government in a calculated move to give an impetus to the negotiations.

When Anastasiades was asked if he will pursue meetings with Turkish officials he said that will depend on the world forum's schedule. Enditem