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91. Turkey resumes drilling in eastern Mediterranean, Erdogan says

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey had resumed energy exploration work in the eastern Mediterranean as Greece had not kept its promises regarding such activities in the region. ...

92. Borrell, Cavusoglu agree on need to de-escalate EastMed tension

EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell held a telephone conversation on Thursday with the Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu, with the two agreeing on the need to de-escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. ...

93. Greek-Turkish ties come under strain

The already tense relationship between Greece and Turkey has been strained further in the wake of Ankara’s leaking of a supposedly secret meeting between Greek, Turkish and German officials following Turkey’s controversial decision to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque and amid an increasingly aggressive Turkish stance in the East Mediterranean. The already tense relationship between Greece and Turkey has been strained further in the wake of Ankara’s leaking of a supposedly secret meeting between Greek, Turkish and German officials following Turkey’s controversial decision to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque and amid an increasingly aggressive Turkish stance in the East Mediterranean. ...

94. Berlin bridge-building effort undermined by Ankara

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday revealed that a secret trilateral meeting between Turkish, German and Greek officials, mediated by Berlin, took place ahead of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council on Monday in the wake of Turkey’s controversial decision to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque. ...

95. As EU mulls sanctions, Turkey defiant

The European Union is seeking ways of imposing sanctions on Turkey in the event that its transgressions in the East Mediterranean are scaled up, and in the wake of its decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. ...

96. Anastasiades fires back at Turkish FM's 'insolent' comments

Our task is to achieve the suspension of Turkey’s unbridled ambition to impose its own version of international law in order to serve its expansionist policies, President Nicos Anastasiades said Tuesday in response to what he described as “insolent” statements issued by the Turkish Foreign Minister on Monday....

97. Turkey warns it will respond if EU takes fresh measures against it

Turkey will respond with its own steps if the European Union imposes further sanctions on Ankara, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday after meeting the EU’s top diplomat....

98. Turkish FM accuses Athens of shirking dialogue

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed accusations that Ankara is unwilling to seek a solution through talks with Greece, saying that the Greek prime minister needs to “look in the mirror and ask himself where he went wrong.” ...

99. Turkey spells out position on Greek islands

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has reiterated Ankara’s contentious claim that islands that lie far from the Greek mainland, including Kastellorizo in the southeastern Aegean, are not entitled to generate continental shelves...

100. Greek PM says Greece ready for any challenge

Amid renewed tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed on Wednesday that Greece “will face all challenges with consistency, stability, confidence and always with a commitment to international law, as it always does.”...

101. Erdogan likens Greek authorities to Nazis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said there is “no difference” between Nazis and the Greek authorities trying to hold the country’s border against the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees spurred to push into the European Union by Ankara....

102. Turkish FM alleges three migrants killed trying to cross Greek border

A war of words between Ankara and Athens over the migrant crisis escalated on Tuesday when Turkey’s foreign minister said without providing evidence that Greek soldiers had killed three migrants attempting to enter the country, a claim denied by Greece....

103. Pressed in Syria, Turkey ups the ante in the East Med

104. Cavusoglu: Greece must be prepared to share in the East Med

Turkey is willing to reach a compromise with Greece as long as the latter is prepared to share in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday....

105. Turkish delegation to visit Moscow to discuss Syria's Idlib

A Turkish delegation will go to Moscow in coming days to discuss the escalating conflict in Syria’s Idlib region, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday, adding that around 1 million people had been displaced there due to Russian-backed Syrian attacks....

106. Cavusoglu slams Akinci after comment that Turkey-north annexation would be 'horrible'

“I’ve never worked with a more unreliable politician,” the Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu said on Monday, referring to the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci in response to an interview where Akinci said the prospect of Crimea-style annexation with Turkey was “horrible”....

107. Cavusoglu: Turkey is prepared to cooperate with all apart from G/C

Turkey is prepared to cooperate with everyone apart from the Republic of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said....

108. Aksoy: Turkey will continue protecting T/C rights

Turkey’s ongoing survey and drilling activities off Cyprus aim at protecting the rights of Turkish Cypriots, a foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday, adding that “until these rights are guaranteed, Turkish Petroleum will continue to operate” in the areas licensed by the breakaway state....

109. Diplomatic hype over eastern Mediterranean

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias attended Christmas Mass in Istanbul amid diplomatic tensions and power play between Athens and Ankara over gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean...

110. Senate approves Armenian resolution

The US Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a resolution that recognizes as a genocide the mass killings of Armenians a century ago, a historic move that infuriated Turkey and dealt a blow to the already problematic ties between Ankara and Washington...

111. Athens and Ankara take jabs at each other

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is expected to raise the Turkey-Libya deal on maritime borders in Brussels, after accusing Ankara of blackmailing its way through an agreement totally devoid of substance...

112. Turkey says Greek Cypriots 'spoiled' in the EU

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says his country’s continental shelf is not up for discussion, accusing Greeks and Greek Cypriots of holding maximalist and uncompromising positions....

113. Neighbours criticise Turkey-Libya deal

The foreign ministry of the Republic of Cyprus has condemned the signing of an agreement on maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya, calling it a “serious violation” of international law...

114. US affirm commitment to eastern Mediterranean

State Secretary Mike Pompeo underlined the commitment of the United States in the Eastern Mediterranean and the deepening of bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus on security...

115. Cyprus President saddened over latest statements by Turkish FM

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades said on Monday that he was saddened to hear about the latest statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, noting that “they convey in essence the message that the Turkish side is not returning to the negotiating table if the requirements it is putting forward are not met.”...

116. Cypriot foreign minister welcomes ceasefire

The Cypriot foreign minister says it remains to be seen how the agreement to halt military operations in Syria will play out, adding that any agreement was a positive development in keeping the peace...

117. US and Turkey work out a ceasefire

Ankara has confirmed statements made by US Vice President Mike Pence, saying the two countries agreed to a 5-day ceasefire in northeast Syria and a hold to additional US sanctions against Turkey...

118. Ankara calls EU decisions ‘unlawful and biased'

Turkey's Foreign Ministry has rejected and condemned decisions taken by the European Union to suspend arms exports to Turkey following Ankara's northeast Syria incursion and drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean...

119. Security Council to address Varosha

A UN press release is expected on Wednesday in response to the Republic of Cyprus’ resort will resort to the Security Council over Turkey’s moves concerning Varosha...

120. Cyprus resorts to UN Security Council over Varosha

In statements to the press late on Friday after having completed all his meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, President Anastasiades expressed his satisfaction about the outcome of his “interesting and extremely important” meeting with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the understanding with which Cyprus’ positions were received by the five Security Council permanent members. ...