Biden informs Anastasiades about content of talks with Erdogan
US Vice President Joe Biden has spoken to Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to brief him on his talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it was revealed on Monday.
In a statement Cypriot government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said that Biden briefed Anastasiades on his efforts to ease the tension in the eastern Mediterranean in the wake of a Turkish research vessel entering Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
According to Christodoulides, Anastasiades thanked Biden for making it clear that “without an end to the Turkey’s illegal actions [reunification] talks cannot resume.”
Biden said he and Erdogan discussed a transition of power in Syria away from President Bashar al-Assad during a four-hour meeting in Istanbul on Saturday.
“On Syria, we discussed … not only to deny ISIL a safe haven and roll back and defeat them, but also strengthen the Syrian opposition and ensure a transition away from the Assad regime,» Biden told a joint news conference with Erdogan.
