President Nikos Christodoulides will seek the assistance of EU Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von de Leyen as part of efforts to have a joint meeting of the two Cyprus leaders with the UN Secretary-General in New York in the coming days, he said on Friday.

Christodoulides leaves the island on Friday to head for New York, with a stopover in Athens, to take part in the UN General Assembly.

From Athens, Christodoulides will on Saturday depart for New York where he will stay from September 16 until 23 during which time he will address the United Nations General Assembly and hold a series of contacts in the efforts to restart talks on the Cyprus issue.

So far, a joint meeting of the president with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the meeting has not been determined, but according to the presidential palace on Friday, Christodoulides will meet Guterres in any case on September 22 at around 5pm Cyprus time.

Asked on Friday if there was anything new regarding a joint meeting with Guterres and Tatar, Christodoulides said he had nothing to report in that respect, but he would be engaging with von der Leyen and Michel to help that along.

“We are in contact with the UN Secretariat and with the EU. It is not customary to have such meetings in New York with European leaders but I have arranged a meeting with both Mr Michel and Ms von der Leyen to see how through their contacts with the Secretary-General they can help us,” he said.

Asked to comment on Tatar’s statements about changing the basis of the Cyprus solution, the president added: “All this is out of the question. There can be no change of the basis of the solution of the Cypriot issue and this is not only the position of our side but also of the international community”.

During his visit to New York, Christodoulides will have various contacts on the sidelines, including with energy and investment organisations and world leaders.

He will also attend, on September 18, the start of the work of the sustainable development summit.

The following day Christodoulides will attend the reception given by Guterres in honour of the heads of state delegations participating in the General Assembly and will then attend the opening of the General Debate of the Plenary.

In the evening, he and the first lady will attend the reception given by the US president and his wife.

On September 20, at 4.30pm Cyprus time, Christodoulides will address the General Assembly.

On the same day, he will have a meeting with Greek Prime Minster Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

He will also have separate meetings with the President of Chevron International Clay Neff, and with the Executive Director of the AJC (American-Jewish Committee) Ted Deutch.

Afterwards, Christodoulides will have a meeting with the Archbishop of America.

The following day, he will sit down to a working breakfast with a delegation from Ernst and Young, while later he will receive a delegation from CVC Capital. He will also have a meeting with a representative of Exxon.

At noon on September 22, prior to his meeting with Guterres, Christodoulides will attend a working lunch with representatives of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. In the evening he will attend a dinner hosted in his honour by the Federation of American Cypriot Organisations.

On September 23, the president will go to Queens College where a special ceremony will be held in his honour, and then he will attend and speak at the National Conference of the Federation of American Cypriot Organisations.

Christodoulides is being accompanied to the US by Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, the Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President Marilena Rauna, the Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Office Doros Venezis and other officials.