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2071. 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. ...

2072. Stern warning issued to Turkish vessel

Amid heightened tensions, Greek military sources have told Kathimerini that if cables of the Turkish Oruc Reis seismic research vessel touch the Greek continental shelf, Turkey will have the “complete and exclusive” responsibility for what will follow....

2073. Church bells toll for Hagia Sophia

Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos has ordered church bells across the island to ring on Friday, marking what he described as a “criminal conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque"...

2074. Greece ‘overreacted’ to Turkish research mission, Erdogan spokesman says

Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Thursday that Greece had “overreacted” to plans by Turkey to proceed with an oil-and-gas research mission south of Greek islands in the Eastern Mediterranean....

2075. Anastasiades: France's initiatives exemplify active role sought from EU

France's president on Thursday said it would be a serious error by the European Union to not respond to provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean and said he wanted more sanctions on those who violated Greek and Cypriot maritime space....

2076. 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...

2077. 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)....

2078. Reopening of Ledra checkpoint a political decision, Kostrikis says

The reopening of the Ledra street checkpoint is a political decision that rests with the island’s two leaders, member of the government’s advisory committee Petros Karayiannis said Wednesday, noting that the epidemiological situation has remained positive on both sides of the divide....

2079. Leaders of Cyprus, Greece coordinate response to new regional instabilities

The President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades shared a telephone conversation with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday to discuss ongoing regional developments in view of the navtex issued by Tukey on Tuesday announcing plans for seismic surveys is an area of sea between Cyprus and Crete....

2080. Cyprus, Greece issue counter-Navtex voiding Turkish advisory

Greece and Cyprus have issued a Navtex in response to the advisory published by Turkey’s navy on Tuesday for seismic surveys in an area of sea between Cyprus and Crete....

2081. 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....

2082. Athens and Ankara can settle differences via diplomacy, says Turkey’s presidential spokesman

Greece and Turkey can resolve their differences “within the framework of mutual respect,” Turkey’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has said, however stressing that Ankara will not compromise on its interests in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean....

2083. Sirens mark 1974 Attila operation in Cyprus

Cypriots woke up to the sound of emergency sirens on the island on Monday morning, marking the anniversary of the Turkish military invasion of summer 1974...

2084. Cyprus President calls for EU sanctions against Turkey

President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the matter of the two countries’ relations with Turkey at the EU Foreign Affairs Council held in Brussels on Friday, with both demanding that additional sanctions are imposed against Turkey....

2085. Cyprus announces six new coronavirus cases

The Republic of Cyprus’ Health Ministry announced six new coronavirus cases on Thursday, involving three refugees, a football player, and two contacts of another known case. ...

2086. 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. ...

2087. 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. ...

2088. 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....

2089. Turkey issues Navtex in Cyprus’ EEZ

Turkey has issued a new Navigational Telex (Navtex), reserving a maritime area within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for drilling activities, Greece's Skai reported on Wednesday....

2090. Health ministry issues decree for asylum seekers

The health ministry has issued a new decree requiring all asylum seekers who are ordered to stay in migrant camps to be tested for COVID-19 before checking in...

2091. Wailing sirens mark 1974 coup in Cyprus

Emergency sirens sounded all over the island of Cyprus on Wednesday morning, marking the anniversary of the military coup of 1974...

2092. It's time for dynamic EU action against Turkey, Greek PM says

Turkey’s repeated violations of Greece and Cyprus’ sovereign rights in the Mediterranean and its “unnecessary and petty” decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia into a mosque “require a comprehensive European response,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday....

2093. Presidents of Cyprus, Greece discuss escalating Turkish provocations

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Greece’s President Katerina Sakellaropoulou held their first meeting in Athens on Tuesday, focusing the discussion on Turkey’s actions in the region and the close ties between the two countries....

2094. Anastasiades lauds France as a pillar of stability in EastMed region

In a period of immense challenges and illegal actions, the presence of the French naval force in the broader geographical region tangibly proves the readiness and determination of France to act as a pillar of stability in the region, while it sends a clear message to those who aim at escalating tensions by acting in an unacceptable way, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said Monday....

2095. 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. ...

2096. EU to discuss new names for further sanctions against Turkey

EU Foreign Ministers agreed at the Foreign Affairs Council held Monday in Brussels that the Working Party of Foreign Relations Counsellors (RELEX) that convenes on Thursday should discuss imposing further sanctions against Turkey in view of its provocations in the Cyprus EEZ....

2097. UNSG report on his good offices in Cyprus obtained by Kathimerini Cyprus

The 39-page advance copy of the Report of the UN Secretary-General on his mission of good offices in Cyprus was obtained by Kathimerini Cyprus....

2098. Christodoulides, Dendias discuss Turkey with Borrell on sidelines of EU meeting

Relations between the European Union and Turkey were at the center of talks Monday between the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides....

2099. Harsh words for Turkey from archbishop

Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostomos has slammed Turkey over the country’s decision to allow Hagia Sophia to revert from museum back to mosque status, accusing Turks of having no respect for the civilized world...

2100. Turkish court rules to let Hagia Sophia return as mosque