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421. Sanctions unfeasible and ineffective

Nathalie Tocci was a close adviser to former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, during the years when the Cyprus Problem came – according to many - closer than ever to a solution. Today, she is a close advisor to Josep Borrell and, having monitored the Cyprus Problem for many years and having played a central role in the effort to formulate a European strategy for foreign policy, she has a strong view not only on Cyprus but also on the Greek-Turkish conflict. At the same time, she takes a critical approach to the efforts exerted by Athens and Nicosia to link sanctions against Turkey with those against Belarus. ...

422. Two men found locked in Limassol animal barn, police make two arrests

Police have made two arrests in connection to a case of human trafficking, after two men were found locked in an animal barn in Limassol....

423. Cyprus revises classification of countries for travel

The Cyprus health ministry on Tuesday downgraded Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Lichtenstein to category B in its three-tier risk-based travel classification system, while Rwanda and Monaco were bumped down to category C....

424. French and Greek fighter jets at Paphos air base

Joint aeronautical exercises featuring the militaries of Greece, France, and Cyprus are set to take place from Wednesday until Friday off the west coast of Cyprus is set to send a strong response to Turkey’s activities in the eastern Mediterranean....

425. Cyprus re-classifies countries with several downgraded

Cyprus on Monday downgraded several countries in its three-tier risk-based classification system after increasing numbers of airport arrivals have recently been found coronavirus-positive....

426. Russia considering to resume flights to Cyprus

Russian authorities are considering to allow the resumption of international flights to Cyprus and six other countries, the Russian daily Izvetsia said Monday, citing unnamed airport and airline sources....

427. NAVTEX wars continue in east Med

Athens has issued an advisory to mariners concerning Greek air and naval forces conducting exercises in an area that overlaps with the one reserved by Ankara in a similar advisory issued on Sunday...

428. Mitsotakis spells out message to Turkey

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Turkey to “stop the provocations” in the Eastern Mediterranean and return to the negotiating table in order to resolve disagreements regarding the delimitation of maritime zones...

429. After collision, Athens plans next steps

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos on Tuesday congratulated the captain of the Greek frigate Limnos that accidentally collided with a Turkish ship during a standoff in the Eastern Mediterranean last week and indicated that Greece is prepared to hold talks with Turkey on the condition that it withdraws its warships and seismic research vessels from the area of the Greek continental shelf...

430. Cyprus open to defining maritime zones

Cyprus said on Tuesday it was willing to engage with all its neighbours on defining maritime boundaries, amid a tense stand-off with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean over jurisdiction in the energy-rich waters...

431. Borrell doubles down on Turkey criticism

EU High Representative on Foreign Policy Josep Borrell scorned Turkey over the weekend, calling on Ankara to end drilling activities off the island of Cyprus and engage in a broad dialogue with the European Union...

432. Rival warnings keep on in the Mediterranean

Rival warnings continued to be issued over waters in the eastern Mediterranean this weekend, after EU ministers reaffirmed the bloc’s solidarity with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey saying it would not “bow to banditry”...

433. Amid tensions with Turkey, Greece in joint manoeuvres with France

Amid ongoing tensions with Turkey over disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean, the French military conducted training exercises with Greek forces on Thursday off the southern island of Crete, including in the maritime area reserved by Turkey’s Navtex earlier this month for seismic exploration....

434. Turkey says it wants to resolve dispute with Greece through dialogue

Turkey’s Energy Minister Fatih Donmez tweeted Wednesday that Turkey plans to lay two cables, totaling 1,750 km in length, for seismic research for energy resources in the Mediterranean Sea by August 23....

435. Leaders of Cyprus, Greece talk strategy

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades was briefed on Tuesday by the Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the situation in Greece’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone, where Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel is currently stationed, with the two leaders agreeing on coordinated action....

436. Turkey says Greece making a ‘big fuss’

Ankara has accused Athens of having “no legal basis” for raising objections over Turkish exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, as Greek armed forces were placed on high alert Monday after Turkey sent a seismic survey vessel in contested waters...

437. Turkish seismic research vessel within Cyprus EEZ

The Turkish seismic research vessel Oruc Reis was spotted on Monday off the Western coast of Cyprus and in the area delineated by Turkey’s fresh Navtex....

438. Regional tensions flare up anew as Turkey issues new Navtex

439. 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. ...

440. Ankara slams Greece-Egypt maritime deal

Ankara was caught off guard Thursday when a secret partial maritime agreement emerged between Athens and Cairo, with the Turkish foreign ministry calling the deal 'null and void'...

441. Egypt, Greece sign agreement on exclusive economic zone

Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on Thursday on setting up an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said....

442. Cyprus calls for EU task force on island

The European Union must do more to fill a power vacuum in the eastern Mediterranean brought on by a perceived US disengagement from the region, and Cyprus is ready to host an EU task force to achieve that goal, the island nation's foreign minister said Wednesday...

443. Cypriot president in Paris for talks

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday, as the two leaders get together amid heightened rhetoric over the eastern Mediterranean...

444. Armed Forces source: ‘Situation unchanged’ near Kastellorizo

The situation “remain unchanged” in the sea area near the Greek island of Kastellorizo on Wednesday for which Turkey issued a Navtex on Tuesday for seismic activities in an area of sea between Cyprus and Crete, according to a source from the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA)....

445. Greek armed forces on alert over Turkish exploration off Kastellorizo

The Antalya Navtex station on Tuesday announced plans for a Turkish seismic survey south and east of the Greek island of Kastellorizo from July 21-August 2....

446. More cases over the weekend

Five cases were announced in the Republic of Cyprus over the weekend, and four passengers detected in the north, with the vast majority of cases on the island involving inbound travel from abroad...

447. 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. ...

448. Cyprus among five countries that present UNSG with note verbale on Tukey-Libya MoU

Cyprus, Bahrain, Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia have presented a note verbale to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterrres, outlining the reasons why the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of National Accord of Libya on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean in Istanbul on 27 November 2019 should not be registered by the UN Secretariat in the list of international treaties....

449. Suspicious container searched at Limassol port

Reports of a possible explosives shipment prompted authorities at Limassol port to investigate a suspicious container from Egypt that was bound for Syria...

450. Moratorium on energy plans would be the end of Cyprus' energy prospects, Lakkotrypis says

Outgoing Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis told Kathimerini Cyprus that a moratorium on the Republic’s energy plans due to internal or external instabilities would mean the end of any energy prospects for the country....