国际英语新闻:Kerry puts off visit to Cyprus due to expected developments on Syria

NICOSIA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- United States Secretary of State John Kerry put off a scheduled visit to Cyprus because of possible talks on Syria later this month, government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said on Saturday.

"There may possibly be talks on Syria in Geneva," said Christodoulides.

He said the United States administration has officially informed Cyprus's government about the postponement of the visit, which was planned as a boost for reunification negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities of Cyprus.

Kerry was scheduled to visit Cyprus on November 14-15 to throw his weight behind efforts to settle the Cyprus problem, which has defied a solution for over 40 years.

He would earlier visit Greece for talks both on the Cyprus problem and the migration crisis. Athens also said Kerry's visit was postponed.

Asked if the change of plans had to do with lack of progress in the Cyprus negotiations Christodoulides said that this was not correct, as the United States had proposed two alternative dates in November and December.

"The postponement is definitely connected with expected developments on Syria. We are in conduct through diplomatic means and we hope fix a new date soon," Christodoulides told the state radio.

The Russian foreign ministry said on Friday that Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had a telephone conversation during which they discussed international efforts to launch political talks between the Syrian government and opposition groups trying to remove president Bashar al-Assad.