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631. Nineteen US Congress members call for UN action against Turkey’s Varosha plans

Nineteen members of the US Congress have signed a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres...

632. Turkey, West poised to dance a ‘violent tango,’ foreign policy expert tells K

A lot of Erdogan’s rhetoric focuses on making Turkey a great power. He sees that as challenging European hegemony....

633. Greece is more secure with Biden as president

US Senator Bob Menendez is one of Greece and Cyprus’ greatest supporters and he exerts considerable power and influence in the foreign policy arena....

634. Biden taps close advisor as energy plots thicken

US State Secretary Antony Blinken has appointed a businessman and former lobbyist as energy security envoy, signaling a new strategic focus in Washington in the aftermath of thorny geopolitics over Nord Stream 2 and unresolved issues relating to the eastern Mediterranean...

635. Congress presses State on Turkey’s drone program

Twenty-eight members of the House of Representatives, led by Congressmen David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Gus Bilirakis of Florida, wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to '[express] concern over Turkey’s UAV program, which has destabilized multiple regions of the globe and threatens US interests, allies, and partners'...

636. Nicosia fares well in intense EU council

Nicosia has welcomed a European Council statement that included conclusions on Turkey, after the EU27 leaders held long and protracted consultations that got testy at times especially during Russia talk...

637. Cypriot president warns about Turkey agenda

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has given a few more hints on what an EU agenda for Turkey ought to look like next month, only days after revealing he was prepared wield his veto power if a decision did not deal squarely with Cyprus...

638. Video pulled after critics said it was sexist

Tourism officials in the Republic of Cyprus have pulled a video from their playlist on social media, after critics said the clip as part of a campaign to keep the country clean was 'sexist' and failed to get the message across...

639. Greek on ‘highjacked’ plane draws attention

Many questions remained unanswered in the aftermath of the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Belarus, including the identity of five passengers that got off at Minsk and a report saying one of them was a Greek national...

640. West furious over Belarus ‘hijacking’ plane

A passenger plane flying from Athens to Lithuania was diverted to Belarus on Sunday, with reports suggesting secret foreign agents in the Greek capital took part in a plot described as a 'state hijacking' by Minsk to arrest a political dissident on board...

641. 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....

642. 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...

643. Anastasiades: Cyprus won't hesitate to veto EU-Turkey customs union

644. 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...

645. Cyprus, Greece mount pressure for revision of EUCO conclusions

Cyprus and Greece mounted pressure on Wednesday for a revision of the draft European Council conclusions on Turkey, arguing that they should better reflect the stance taken by the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in his recent report....

646. 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.” ...

647. Gloves are off in EU-China relations

The United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on Chinese officials on Monday for human rights abuses in Xinjiang, in the first such coordinated Western action against Beijing under new US President Joe Biden...

648. Germany: Turkey sending wrong human rights signals

Turkey is sending the wrong messages to the European Union by withdrawing from a pact designed to counter violence against women and closing down the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned on Monday....

649. 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....

650. Greece, Turkey resume preliminary talks on maritime dispute

Greece and Turkey began another round of exploratory talks in Athens on Tuesday, seeking common ground on a long-standing maritime boundaries dispute before a European Union summit later this month...

651. 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....

652. Akar: Turkey determined to defend rights across ‘Blue Homeland’

Turkey is determined to defend its rights across the “Blue Homeland,” the country’s defense minister, Hulusi Akar, said Friday, invoking an expansionist doctrine that envisages Turkish control over the waters of the eastern Aegean and the northern Mediterranean....

653. Anastasiades holds call with Charles Michel

President Nicos Anastasiades held a phone call with the European Council President Charles Michel on Thursday to touch base on the upcoming European Council meetings scheduled this month and next....

654. UK states it is a 'strong supporter' of federal Cyprob solution

The UK remains a “strong supporter” of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement to the Cyprus issue based on the internationally accepted model of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation, a government source in London has said. ...

655. US against two-state deal on Cyprus, Heather A. Conley tells Kathimerini

Heather A. Conley is no stranger to Greece as she has made a point of visiting the country every year and also participated in the 2019 Delphi Forum – the last that actually took place in Delphi. A Washington veteran, she is senior vice president for Europe, Eurasia and the Arctic and director of the Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)....

656. Cyprus, Greece coordinate Cyprob tactics

Both Greece and the Republic of Cyprus are remaining firm in their support of a bizonal bicommunal federation as the solution being sought for the Cyprus Problem, the leaders of the two nations said Monday after a meeting held in Nicosia....

657. 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...

658. EU keeping close eye on Turkish moves

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to a “wait-and-see” approach towards Turkey, with some member-states appearing more skeptical of Ankara’s recent overtures....

659. Cypriot FM visits Gulf before US inauguration

Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides flew to the United Arab Emirates on Monday to hold a private meeting with his counterpart, days after the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement but also days before a changing of the guard in Washington could spell trouble for US arms sales to Gulf states...

660. Turkey and Greece to resume talks

Turkey and Greece will resume talks aimed at reducing tensions between the neighbors on Jan. 25, Turkish and Greek officials announced Monday, following this summer’s dispute over maritime borders and energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean...