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991. EU executive tells Turkey to take migrants back from Greek border

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey must move refugees and migrants away from the Greek border....

992. President of Cyprus to pay an official visit to Austria

Migration and the Cyprus issue are among the topics President Nicos Anastasiades is expected to discuss in Vienna, during a two-day official visit he is paying to the country at the invitation of the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen....

993. The era of asymmetric threats

Kyriakos Mitsotakis would never have expected to star in a Greek edition of the perfect storm. Yet fate and events have put the Greek prime minister in charge of the country at a very crucial moment. He has shown determination in dealing with the migration/refugee issue, which has also bolstered his political image. The public was craving for a strong leader – a notion that was largely eclipsed by a sense of humiliation over the past 10 years....

994. Special force from Cyprus flies to Greece

Nearly two dozen members of Cypriot special security forces have been deployed to Greece’s Evros region to assist in a pushback of undocumented migrants, with reports saying the situation was calmer after a tense weekend...

995. Police hold the line at Ledra checkpoint

Greek Cypriot police at Nicosia's Ledra crossing thwarted a barricade breach by Turkish Cypriot protesters on Saturday, as demonstrations against the checkpoint shutdown continued on both sides of the divided island...

996. Eight Turkish Cypriots rushed to hospital after Ledra checkpoint protest

Protesters gathered on both sides of the Ledra Street divide on Saturday to demonstrate against the closure of four checkpoints by the government of the Republic of Cyprus, a move it said was part of a bundle of coronavirus protection measures but which has been criticized as a measure veiling ulterior political motives....

997. EU criticizes Turkey on migration as border clashes resume

Clashes between Greek riot police and migrants attempting to cross the border from Turkey erupted anew Friday as European Union foreign ministers took aim at what they called “Turkey’s use of migratory pressure for political purposes.” ...

998. EU considering more money for migrants in Turkey but won't be threatened, EU's Borrell says

European Union governments will consider on Friday whether to provide more money for migrants in Turkey, but will not accept that refugees are used as a bargaining tool, the EU’s top diplomat said. ...

999. Turkey deploys 1,000 police at Greek border to stem pushback of migrants

Turkey is deploying 1,000 special police forces along its border with Greece on Thursday to halt the pushback of migrants toward its territory, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said, adding that 164 migrants had been wounded by Greek authorities....

1000. Protesters march for checkpoint closings

A large group of protesters flocked to downtown in old Nicosia on Wednesday, condemning a recent barricade breach at Ledra checkpoint and calling for crossings on the divided island to be shut down on a permanent basis...

1001. Greek forces use tear gas to repel migrants

Greek riot police and troops used water cannon and tear gas on Wednesday against hundreds of migrants as they made another attempt to cross the border from Turkey into Greece....

1002. EU interior ministers to pledge ‘all necessary measures’ to stop illegal crossings

EU interior ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday will pledge “all necessary measures” to prevent illegal crossings into the bloc’s external borders, according to a draft of their conclusions seen by Kathimerini, which also calls upon Turkey to abide by the terms of a 2016 deal to stem flows in the Aegean....

1003. 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....

1004. UN: EU needs to stop bickering, support Greece on refugees

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Tuesday urged European Union countries to give more resources and support to Greece as it faces a new wave of migrants and refugees from Syria and other parts of the Middle East....

1005. Greek army, police dig in along Turkey border after migrant clashes

Greek troops and riot police remained on high alert on Tuesday along the land border between Greece and Turkey, the main flashpoint in an escalating row between the EU and Ankara over how to deal with a new wave of migrants and refugees....

1006. Guards use tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants at Greek-Turkish border

Guards on Greece’s northeastern land border with Turkey made “deterrent use” of tear gas to disperse some 500 refugees and migrants trying to enter the country and the European Union after Ankara loosened controls on migrant flows....

1007. Greek border crackdown amid concerns over Turkey

Greek government sources on Friday stressed that authorities are boosting security at the country’s border following reports that Turkey will no longer stop Syrian refugees from traveling to Europe....

1008. Finland to accept 175 asylum seekers from Mediterranean 'hotspots'

The government of Finland announced on Thursday that it will be accepting up to 175 asylum seekers from Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Italy, in a bid to facilitate their humanitarian situation in EU member states in the Mediterranean....

1009. Two die after hospital fire in north Nicosia, President Anastasiades offers help

A fire broke out at a hospital in north Nicosia, with reports pointing to at least two deaths after officials ordered the evacuation of an entire unit with heart patients...

1010. 14 EU countries demand Syria govt, Russia return to 2018 ceasefire deal

Foreign ministers from 14 European countries, including France and Germany, demanded on Wednesday that Syrian government forces and their Russian backers end their offensive in Idlib province and return to the terms of a 2018 ceasefire deal....

1011. Cyprus and Norway prepare to sign energy MoU

Cyprus and Norway began preparations on Friday to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on energy issues, that will contain provisions for the exchange of expertise in relation to the national hydrocarbon fund (sovereign fund), among other things....

1012. Pressed in Syria, Turkey ups the ante in the East Med

1013. Military clash with Syria is imminent, Erdogan says

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday a Turkish military operation to push back a Syrian government offensive against rebel strongholds in northwest Syria was now “a matter of time” after talks with Russia failed to halt the assault....

1014. Athens drafts package to ease tension with Anakara

Athens plans to present a package of proposals to ease Aegean tensions in talks with Ankara on confidence building measures on February 17-21....

1015. Health Minister travels to Brussels for extraordinary EU coronavirus meeting

Amid growing concerns over coronavirus, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou will be rushing to Brussels on Wednesday after the European Union called for an emergency meeting of EU Health Ministers on Thursday....

1016. 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....

1017. European Commission to stamp out illegal pet trade

The European Commission will boost efforts to stamp out the illegal trade in pets, particularly cats and dogs, in the EU, the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides said....

1018. Syria displacement is worst since conflict began, UN says

More people have fled fighting in Syria over the past 10 weeks than at any other time in the 9-year-old conflict and the city of Idlib, where many are sheltering, could become a graveyard if hostilities continue, two U.N. agencies said on Tuesday....

1019. 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”....

1020. Cyprus to purchase arms worth €240m from France

Contracts have been signed for the purchase of military equipment worth €240 million from France, Defence Ministry announced on Friday, confirming recent reports in French media....