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421. Cyprus against the clock to stop Erdogan

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides has been going all out on a preemptive diplomatic strike aimed at garnering support in Brussels, Washington, and the international community to stop the Turkish President from revealing ‘surprises to the world’ during a scheduled visit to the island on July 20...

422. No concessions to Erdogan, says Bob Menendez

No concessions should be made to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 'without a significant behavior change,' US Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat and chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tells Kathimerini...

423. 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...

424. No fly on the wall during Brussels meeting

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet Monday in Brussels where they are attending a NATO Summit, with reports saying the two leaders at some point plan to have only their interpreters in the room...

425. Blinken: differences with Turkey are no secret

US President Joe Biden will raise the issue of Turkey’s activities in the Eastern Mediterranean during his upcoming meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday...

426. 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...

427. 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....

428. 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...

429. 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...

430. 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...

431. 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...

432. 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....

433. 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....

434. 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....

435. 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....

436. 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...

437. 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.” ...

438. EU will be present in Cyprus issue negotiations, senior EU official says

The EU will be present at the conference on Cyprus to be convened by the UN in Geneva in late April and at the formal negotiations that may follow, a senior EU official said at a press conference in Brussels ahead of the forthcoming Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of Monday....

439. 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...

440. 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....

441. Athens sees Ankara games ahead of summit

Not only did Turkey continue to ignore Athens’ proposals for the next round of exploratory contacts between the two countries on Monday, its Defense Ministry once again revisited the issue of demilitarization of the Greek islands of the eastern Aegean, going as far as denouncing the presence of Greek warships at Kastellorizo....

442. Erdogan wishes to improve testy relations with US

Turkey’s president says mutual interests with the United States outweigh their differences and has called for more cooperation with President Joe Biden’s new US administration....

443. Oktay: Forget any bargaining over Varosha

444. Erdogan says only solution on Cyprus is two states

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that the only way to resolve decades of dispute over Cyprus was to establish two states on the island, and a federation favored by Athens would not be on the agenda of upcoming talks....

445. From Bismarck to Merkel

'Turks and Germans loved each other for a long time,' Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to Berlin in 2018. He was citing the historic words of Germany’s first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, which still seem to determine Berlin’s policy on Ankara. We should recognize this reality as we enter a new geopolitical era, without succumbing to sentimentalism and spasmodic reactions....

446. Cyprus supporter to lead US foreign committee

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades says he looks forward to working with US Senator Bob Menendez, after the NJ Democrat was named officially chairman of the foreign relations committee in the new Congress...

447. US says Turkish coup claims 'wholly false'

The US State Department said on Thursday assertions by Turkish officials that the United States was involved in a failed 2016 coup in Turkey were 'wholly false'...

448. Turkish minister says US behind 2016 failed coup attempt

Turkey's interior minister accused the United States on Thursday of being behind a 2016 failed coup that Ankara has blamed on a US-based Muslim preacher, the Hurriyet daily reported, at a time when Turkey is seeking improved ties with its NATO ally....

449. Greece and Turkey resume exploratory talks

Exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey are set to resume in Istanbul, with Ankara trying to gain an upper hand over the agenda and Athens appearing to have low expectations citing disagreement on both sides on what to discuss...

450. Greek MPs approve extension of Ionian Sea territorial waters

With 284 votes in favor and 16 “present,” lawmakers approved legislation on Wednesday to extend Greece’s territorial waters along its western coastline from six to 12 nautical miles....