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181. 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”...

182. 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....

183. French La Fayette frigate spotted off Larnaca coast

After the two French Rafale fighter jets and the C 180 utility aircraft landed in the National Guard’s ‘Andreas Papandreou’ air base in Paphos, a warship of the French Navy has also arrived in Cyprus....

184. 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....

185. Charles De Gaulle docks in Limassol - pictures

Europe’s largest warship, the French navy flagship Charles De Gaulle, docked at Limassol port once again on Friday, in view of upcoming joint military exercises between the armies of Cyprus and France....

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

187. 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....

188. French Defence Minister expresses solidarity with Cyprus

The French Defence Minister, Florence Parly, who met on Tuesday with President Nicos Anastasiades and her Cyprus counterpart Savvas Angelides, expressed France’s solidarity with Cyprus, which she said is under intense pressure when seen from an international perspective....

189. Anti-aircraft systems activated in joint military exercise with France

French Rafale fighter jets put the capabilities of the Cyprus army’s anti-aircraft umbrella to the test during a joint military exercise on Monday....

190. French aircraft carrier in Cyprus Block 8

Amid rising tensions in the East Mediterranean, the flagship of the French Navy, aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle, remains in Block 8 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone, bearing a small fleet of Rafale fighter jets, helicopters, other aircraft and drones....

191. Little US-Turkish progress solving defenses row, Erdogan says

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Washington and Ankara had done little to solve a row over Turkey’s purchase of Russian defenses and its procurement of US fighter jets despite a November agreement, according to broadcaster NTV....

192. 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...

193. Athens denounces sea border deal to UN

Greece’s objections to the “legally invalid” maritime boundary deal between Turkey and Libya are meticulously outlined in two letters it has sent to the United Nations, which also call on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to bring the matter before the Security Council...

194. Trump has ‘wonderful’ meeting with Erdogan

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday pushed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to walk away from the purchase of a Russian missile defense system, calling it a “very serious challenge” to bilateral ties, even though he described a meeting between the two leaders as “wonderful"...

195. Greek jets on NATO mission fly over Cyprus

Greek fighter jets are flying over Cyprus for a second time within a span of just a few weeks, with reports saying they are on a NATO mission to Syria...

196. Turkey expresses displeasure at military exercise with barrage of violations

Turkish fighter jets on Wednesday conducted a total of 70 airspace violations, which led to six overflights and five mock dogfights with Greek fighter jets....

197. Greek jets fly over Larnaca military drill

Two Greek F-16 jets flew over Larnaca’s Kalo Chorio firing range on Thursday morning, while a training exercise of the Cypriot National Guard was in progress...

198. Turkish jets fly over Greek islets

Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets flew over the Anthropofagi and Makronisi chain of islets in the eastern Aegean the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) said Monday....

199. Greece and the US: Commitments and credibility

The signals coming from the two centers of power in the United States, the president and Congress, are often conflicting, which makes it hard for Athens to carve out an effectual foreign policy. This conundrum is set to continue throughout the Trump administration...

200. Macron sends stern warning to Ankara

In a show of solidarity with Cyprus, French President Emmanuel Macron sent a stern message to Turkey on Thursday that Paris and the European Union will not tolerate violations in the Eastern Mediterranean...

201. Tangible rewards for alliance-building

Greece's military spending has shrunk dramatically as a result of the crisis, widening the defense gap with Turkey. Successive Greek governments have spent billions on armaments over the past few decades, yet there is very little to show for it in terms of a defense industry. After an ambitious start, state-owned firms such as the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAV) and others were gradually choked by mismanagement from political parties and unionism...

202. US removes Turkey from F-35 program after Russian missile purchase

The United States said on Wednesday that it was removing Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet programme, a move long threatened and expected after Ankara began accepting delivery of an advanced Russian missile defence system last week. ...

203. No time for mixed signals

We are entering a very thorny patch in Greek-Turkish relations. Turkey’s activities within Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), combined with the standoff with the United States over Ankara’s acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system are increasing the tension further in Greece’s wider region. ...

204. Trump says 'not fair' that U.S. can't sell F-35s to Turkey

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday it is “not fair” to either Turkey or the United States that Washington cannot sell Ankara billions of dollars worth of F-35 fighter jets after it bought a Russian air defense system...

205. First parts of Russian S-400 system delivered to Turkey

Turkey’s purchase of the Russian defense systems, which Washington says are not compatible with NATO’s defense network, is one of a series of issues which have put the allies at odds. ...

206. F35 back to UK after Cyprus mission

Four F-35 fighter jets have just returned to the UK after a two-month exercise in Cyprus, where they also flew reconnaissance missions over Iraq and Syria...

207. New missile scenarios tossed in the mix

Reports in the Turkish Cypriot press point to a number of different scenarios, as authorities on both sides of the divided island try to learn more about the rogue missile that ended up on Cypriot soil...

208. Bloomberg: Turkey stockpiles weapon parts in anticipation of US sanctions

Turkey has been stockpiling parts for F-16 fighter jets and other military hardware in anticipation of American sanctions, Bloomberg has reported, citing two Turkish officials familiar with their country’s defense strategy. ...

209. No final conclusions yet in stray missile incident

The Republic of Cyprus remains in the dark over the missile incident in the north, while an effort is underway by officials to sound out “friendly countries” in order to connect the dots...

210. 'No reason to panic' over stray missile

Turkish Cypriot officials confirmed Monday that they believe a part of a Russian-made S200 missile reached Cyprus early morning and caused multiple explosions, while a team of Turkish experts is traveling to the island to conduct tests...