Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is expected to arrive at midnight Wednesday in Cyprus for a state visit, the first ever by a Russian head of state. MEDVEDEV'S VISIT MEANS A LOT TO DIVIDED CYPRUS Medvedev and Cyprus President Demetris Christofias will sign 13 agreements and memoranda after talks on Thursday. Among them is an action plan for cooperation over the next three years and an agreement on avoiding double taxation, hailed by the Cyprus government as a significant event. Christofias, who speaks Russian, said Medvedev's visit to the Mediterranean island is in itself an event of great political and economic importance. 'The visit is an historic event which is related to the longstanding common tradition between the peoples of Russia and Cyprus, which will be reaffirmed,' Christofias said. The president also said Medvedev's visit 'will mean a lot for the Cyprus problem as well as for the status of the Republic of Cyprus as an independent state.' Christofias was referring to the decades-long Cyprus problem and to efforts by the Cyprus government in negotiations with the Turkish Cypriot community of the island to preserve the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus has been partitioned into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened in a coup by Greek army officers. Ankara still maintains a heavy military presence in the north. Efforts to solve the Cyprus problem were expected to be central in talks between Christofias and Medvedev. The Greek Cypriot-led Cyprus government has traditionally turned to Russia for support in its effort to stave off attempt by Turkey to define a time-table for a solution, fearing it would lead to a hastily defined or one-sided arbitrated solution. The Cypriot government is also engaged in efforts to avert efforts to promote recognition of the breakaway self-styled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey. Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou told Russia's state radio that that the former Soviet Union and later on, the Russian Federation, actively supported Cyprus at critical times for its existence as a state. 'It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Cypriot state owes to a great degree its existence to the moral support of the international community and the protection UN Security Council resolutions provide us, and Russia played a decisive role in their adoption,' Kyprianou said. BUSINESS TIES HIGH ON AGENDA Cyprus is also attaching great economic importance to the visit, hoping that it will result in badly needed Russian investment that will help its economy come out of the economic crisis. Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides said one of the agreements to be signed during Medvedev's visit will remove Cyprus from the so-called Russian black list of countries that are considered to be tax havens for funds taken out of Russia in a dubious manner after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The irony is that Cypriot investment in Russia up to 2008 amounted to 56.7 million U.S. dollars against only 16 million dollars of Russian investment in Cyprus. Paschalides said the tax agreement between the two countries is expected to reverse that disparity. Medvedev will be accompanied during his visit by a group of more than 60 journalists and hundreds of businessmen. Medvedev and Christofias will both address a joint Russian- Cypriot economic forum in Nicosia expected to be attended by more than 500 businessmen. The leaders also will unveil a monument to the Cypriot-Russian friendship and inaugurate the Russian Commercial Bank in Cyprus in the southern town of Limassol, which has a large community of Russian expatriates. ENHANCING SECURITY MEASURES FOR MEDVEDEV The visit by the Russian president has stretched Cyprus' security services to their limits. Though terrorist actions are unknown in the peaceful island state, Cyprus has deployed hundreds of police officers, who along with Russian security forces, have combed every inch of the ground where Medvedev will move. A special armored car was also brought in for the president's travels, reported local media. Medvedev will depart late Thursday after daylong engagements and a state dinner hosted by Christofias. 