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481. West furious over Belarus ‘hijacking’ plane

A passenger plane flying from Athens to Lithuania was diverted to Belarus on Sunday, with reports suggesting secret foreign agents in the Greek capital took part in a plot described as a 'state hijacking' by Minsk to arrest a political dissident on board...

482. Women and children allowed off refugee boat

Close to a hundred Syrian refugees were spotted on board a vessel on Wednesday off Cyprus’ Cape Greco, with reports saying half of them were women and children while coast guard officials ordered the men to remain on the boat...

483. Turkey sees Greek/Cypriot bias in EP report

The European Parliament has adopted a damning report on Turkey, calling among others for a formal suspension of accession talks, while drawing an immediate response from Ankara that says the report is not objective...

484. Erdogan calls on Greek Istanbulites to return

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and others that he welcomes the return of Istanbulite Greeks back to their ancestral homes...

485. US-Turkish alliance at a critical crossroads

The rift between Joe Biden and Recep Tayyip Erdogan runs deep as the American president – in contrast to his predecessor – attaches a great deal of importance to respect for democratic values and does not see his Turkish counterpart as willing to cooperate in the framework of a world order based on shared principles and rules, Ian Bremmer, the head of Eurasia Group, tells Kathimerini in an interview....

486. Christodoulides: Failure in Geneva won’t benefit anyone

A failure of the informal five-party summit would constitute a negative development for all participants, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said in an interview with Kathimerini Cyprus' Marina Economides, just before the new UN-led initiative was set to kick off in Geneva on Tuesday....

487. Biden says Armenian deaths were genocide

US President Joe Biden kept a campaign promise on Saturday, saying massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, a move vehemently denounced by Turkey amid frayed ties between the two NATO allies...

488. Cyprus tackles Russian Question as time flies

Thousands of cancelations from Russia to Cyprus in just a matter of hours are testing the island’s response to the health crisis, with companies pushing their programs later in the summer pending improvement on the pandemic front...

489. 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...

490. Europe must get off the sofa

Everything we learnt from what took place in the presidential palace, and then from Brussels, reinforced the image of a weak, if not anemic Europe...

491. Turkey says ‘sofagate’ unfair criticism from EU

Turkey has blamed the European Union for seating arrangements that left European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen standing without a chair during formalities at the Presidential Palace in Ankara...

492. EC head taken aback as Erdogan and Michel snap up the chairs

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was taken aback to find her fellow top EU official taking the only chair available next to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan when the duo visited Ankara, and her spokesman made that clear on Wednesday....

493. Michel says EU will be active observer in Cyprus peace talks

The EU remains committed to the resumption of Cyprus peace talks and is looking forward to the informal meeting set to take place in Geneva later this month, where it will participate as an active observer, European Council President Charles Michel said Tuesday after meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara....

494. Anastasiades: Cyprus won't hesitate to veto EU-Turkey customs union

495. 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....

496. 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....

497. EU presidents to go to Turkey next week

The presidents of the European Council and the European Commission will meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey on April 6, an EU spokesman said on Monday, in the latest sign of improving ties....

498. EU27 open up to Turkey but with a caveat

European Union leaders made good on Thursday on a 2016 promise to deepen trade ties with Turkey, but also warned Ankara to expect sanctions if it restarts exploration over disputed hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean...

499. Cyprus, Greece mount pressure for revision of EUCO conclusions

Cyprus and Greece mounted pressure on Wednesday for a revision of the draft European Council conclusions on Turkey, arguing that they should better reflect the stance taken by the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in his recent report....

500. Nicosia seeks revision on Turkey draft

The Republic of Cyprus has raised concerns over a joint statement to be issued by the EU27 on Turkey, with sources saying Nicosia was calling for a new draft to 'better reflect' statements by officials...

501. Cyprus rejects EU draft on Turkey which seeks to deepen trade ties

Cyprus has rejected a draft prepared for a summit of EU leaders this week which seeks to deepen trade ties with Turkey, describing it as “totally unacceptable.” ...

502. Fence wars break out near buffer zone

Opposing camps have been making headlines recently over a controversial barbwire fence near the buffer zone, with one group cutting a piece of barbed wire and the other restoring it, with all caught on tape...

503. Germany: Turkey sending wrong human rights signals

Turkey is sending the wrong messages to the European Union by withdrawing from a pact designed to counter violence against women and closing down the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned on Monday....

504. Borrell report on Turkey covers all bases

A report by European Commission Vice-President and High Representative Josep Borrell spells out the 'political and economic consequences' that Turkey will suffer should the country 'not move forward constructively in developing a genuine partnership with the EU'...

505. 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....

506. Cyprus scrambles to reduce asylum backlog

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris says the government is moving forward with rejections of asylum applications under new, faster procedures to clear a system backlog, with Europe seeking a comprehensive solution and a commissioner calling on Cypriot authorities to investigate illegal pushbacks...

507. Cavusoglu to meet Dendias in Turkey in April

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday he would meet his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Turkey on April 14, after the NATO members resumed talks to seek common ground in a decades-old maritime dispute....

508. 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...

509. UK concerned over Varosha, reiterates call for flexibility

The UK continues to follow the situation in Varosha “with concern”, Foreign Minister for the European Neighbourhood Wendy Morton stated in response to a question by Conservative MP Matthew Offord....

510. Minister points finger at north over barbwire

Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has fired back at critics in the north over the south’s decision to install barbwire near the UN buffer zone to halt illegal crossings, blaming the need for a fence on lack of action on the part of Turkish Cypriot authorities...