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1. Moscow against recognition of Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus

Russia dismissed Turkish media reports on Thursday that Moscow and Ankara are engaged in bargaining for the mutual recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the Turkish-occupied territories in northern Cyprus....

2. ‘A Dark Room’: excerpts from Alexis Papachelas’ forthcoming book

“The nut, he went and did what we didn’t,” said Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos the morning of July 15, 1974 after he found out that Dimitris Ioannidis, the junta’s military police chief, had orchestrated a coup to overthrow Cyprus President Archbishop Makarios....

3. North clears new entrance in Varosha

Dozens of Greek Cypriots from Varosha who were displaced in 1974 may be a step closer to returning to their homes, after Turkish Cypriot authorities in the north began clearing a new entrance to the ghost town, but the government in the south is urging caution with serious consequences to peace talks...

4. Greece braces for tension with Turkey

The prospect of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “testing” the freshly ratified Greek-French agreement, by escalating tensions in the Aegean or in the Eastern Mediterranean, is worrying Athens....

5. Turkey renews call for demilitarization of islands in letter to UN

With yet another round of exploratory low-level talks set to start between Greece and Turkey on Wednesday, Ankara has renewed calls for the demilitarization of the eastern Aegean islands....

6. Aeronautical exercises off the coast of Cyprus begin today

Aeronautical exercises dubbed "EUNOMIA 2-2021" is set to begin today in the sea area west and southwest of Cyprus,...

7. Turkey denies Cypriot vessel in contested waters

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was working the phones on Monday, a day after Turkey expelled a research vessel from waters west of the island, a maritime area with zones claimed by both Ankara and Nicosia...

8. Turkish warship blocks Greek research vessel

A Turkish warship issued a warning to a Greek research vessel to prevent it entering what Turkey considers its territorial waters, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday. The showdown came a year after tensions in the eastern Mediterranean threatened to escalate into open conflict between the neighbors and NATO allies...

9. Greece and France ink ‘historic’ defense agreement

French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis inked what they described as a “historic” defense agreement in Paris on Tuesday....

10. Nineteen US Congress members call for UN action against Turkey’s Varosha plans

Nineteen members of the US Congress have signed a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres...

11. Cavusoglu boos Greek ‘maximalist demands’

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Ankara is in favor of settling maritime disputes fairly and in accordance with international law against 'maximalist demands' by Greeks and Greek Cypriots...

12. North soon to establish Varosha czar

An international conference on Varosha is in the works according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who accused European officials of turning their backs on Turkish Cypriots and further insisted that any steps on Cyprus’ ghost town will be 'in accordance with the law'...

13. Nicosia, Ankara worlds apart over resolution

Nicosia has welcomed a Security Council resolution that renewed the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cyprus and also delved into other aspects of the Cyprus Problem, with Ankara crying foul and saying the UN violated its own rules...

14. Brussels warns Ankara over Varosha

The European Union has warned Turkey it will “consider actions” if there is no reversal on a plan by Ankara-backed Turkish Cypriots to partially reopen the abandoned town of Varosha...

15. Ankara rejects statement on Varosha

Ankara has remained defiant following a UN Security Council presidential statement that condemned the decision by Turkey and Turkish Cypriots to reopen a residential section of abandoned Varosha...

16. EU-US summit mentions eastern Mediterranean

In a move to restore transatlantic ties, the US commander-in-chief and his two EU counterparts stressed the need for “sustainable de-escalation' of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, with a final draft making reference to Turkey and international law after some words were left out...

17. Mitsotakis and Erdogan agree to calm summer

In a 50-minute meeting described by Greek sources as an 'ice breaker,' Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to a joint understanding on Monday that 2020 tensions should not be repeated in 2021, while noting at the same time that the big differences between the two NATO members remain...

18. Athens irked over Cavusoglu’s minority tweet

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Sunday began his trip to Greece, with a tweet about an unofficial visit to the northeastern province of Thrace prompting angry reactions from Athens...

19. EY: Liquidity-fueled IPO markets break records in Q1 2021

20. Cyprus police keep eye on Israeli interests

Police in Cyprus are taking precautionary measures to secure Israeli interests on the island, after tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict spiraled out of control this week...

21. UN chief says common ground still elusive

The United Nations said on Thursday there was not enough common ground to resume negotiations on war-divided Cyprus, after a three-day summit attempting to break a four-year impasse in peace negotiations...

22. Greek, Turkish ministers stand their ground

Greek and Turkish foreign ministers Nikos Dendias and Mevlut Cavusoglu hailed the relaunch of exploratory talks between Athens and Ankara and called for a de-escalation of tension, but both stood their ground on key issues dividing the two sides in an unusually frank press conference following their meeting in Ankara on Thursday...

23. Top EU officials head to Turkey in bid to improve ties

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel are headed to Turkey on Tuesday on an official visit aimed at improving ties between Brussels and Ankara....

24. Anastasiades sends message to Turkey via Michel

President Nicos Anastasiades called on Friday on the President of the European Council Charles Michel, who is set to visit Ankara next week, to convey to the need for Turkey to show political will that will allow the resumption of substantive talks on Cyprus....

25. President meets with EU Health Commissioner in Nicosia

President Nicos Anastasiades met with the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides on Monday to discuss EU efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic....

26. Gloves are off in EU-China relations

The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials on Monday for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, in the first such coordinated Western action against Beijing under new US President Joe Biden...

27. US supports Greece, Cyprus, Israel power initiative

The United States is “supportive of connecting distribution grids of mainland Europe to Cyprus and Israel via the EuroAsia Interconnector,” a spokesperson for the State Department said on Thursday, after Ankara on Monday formally protested a memorandum of understanding signed last week between Israel, Greece and Cyprus for the construction of a 2,000-megawatt undersea electricity cable....

28. Greece, Turkey resume preliminary talks on maritime dispute

Greece and Turkey began another round of exploratory talks in Athens on Tuesday, seeking common ground on a long-standing maritime boundaries dispute before a European Union summit later this month...

29. Borrell: Cyprob solution must come from Cypriots

"The European Union fully supports the resumption of a settlement process under UN auspices, as soon as possible," and stands ready to provide whatever assistance both parties and the UN would find most useful, the EU’s Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday....

30. Two states in Cyprus? Why not, then, a unitary one?

An informal summit on Cyprus is scheduled to take place in Geneva in late April, coming at a time when Greek-Turkish relations are anything but good and tensions are high in the broader region. The aim of the meeting, according to the United Nations, “will be to determine whether common ground exists for the parties to negotiate a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem within a foreseeable horizon.”...