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1531. President condemns Dherynia checkpoint ruckus

President Nicos Anastasiades described Sunday night’s demonstration by fans of a local football club at the Dherynia checkpoint as “unacceptable and condemnable.”...

1532. Tatar challenges Akinci in runoff election

The top two contenders for the leadership in the north will face each other in a runoff election, after Turkish Cypriot voters went to the polls Sunday with the roadmap to peace on the divided island hanging in the balance...

1533. Turkish Cypriots choose leader as Cyprus talks reboot looms

Turkish Cypriots vote Sunday to choose a leader who'll explore, along with Greek Cypriots, whether there's enough common ground left for a deal to end the island's decades of ethnic division....

1534. All eyes on Cypriot ghost town

Turkish Cypriot authorities have been working around the clock to meet a deadline on Thursday when a Varosha beachfront, which has been off limits since 1974, is set to reopen to the public...

1535. Reactions point to Varosha election gimmick

Political reactions have been getting stronger by the day on both sides of divided Cyprus over a recent announcement to open a beach strip in ghost town Varosha in the north, just days ahead of a general election...

1536. EY Cyprus Platinum Sponsor at first Cyprus Forum

1537. Erdogan-Tatar: Varosha to open to the public on Thursday

Developments regarding Varosha were moving full speed ahead on Tuesday after rumours regarding the reopening of the fenced-off town were confirmed. In statements, Tayyip Erdogan and Ersin Tatar said that on Thursday, the public will be able to visit the areas that will open....

1538. Green transition in transport, agriculture an uphill task

Achieving sustainable transport demands policies on a governmental and local level which will give priority to users, providing more accessible, fair and clean alternative solutions, chairman of the parliamentary committee on transport, Charalambos Pittokopitis, has said, noting that the transition could not be achieved overnight....

1539. It is up to Turkey to ‘open path’ to solution, says Greek PM

Greece welcomes a “first step” from Turkey towards the de-escalation of tension, “but whether it is a sincere move or a temporary maneuver remains to be seen,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday, following talks in Athens with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg....

1540. Spanish FM stresses solidarity with Cyprus, importance of dialogue

Spain’s Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha González Laya expressed her country’s solidarity and support for Cyprus in the face of tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean....

1541. Pompeo sees window of opportunity for dialogue, in Kathimerini interview

In an interview with Kathimerini, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo deplores the use of threats and unilateral actions as a way of resolving bilateral disputes, sending a clear signal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan....

1542. Cyprus on the menu as EU27 break bread

European Council President Charles Michel has set aside an entire EU27 dinner to tackle the eastern Mediterranean and EU relations with Turkey, while President Erdogan has sent a letter outlying Ankara's position and a suggested way forward...

1543. What Berlin made clear to Nicosia

German officials coordinating with Nicosia, after the Republic of Cyprus told the foreign affairs council that it would use its veto power if sanctions against Belarus are not linked with those against Turkey, said that the prospect of sanctions against Turkey is a distant scenario....

1544. The EU did not act in united fashion, Cyprus President tells Le Figaro

In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro published Thursday, President Nicos Anastasiades said that in responding Turkey’s actions in the eastern Mediterranean, the EU did not act in a decisive and united fashion, while refuting that Cyprus vetoed sanctions against Belarus....

1545. Commission presents new migration plan for EU

The European Union's executive proposed on Wednesday overhauling the bloc's broken migration and asylum rules, seeking to end years of feuds and bitterness over the many people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa....

1546. NATO keeps France-Turkey probe under wraps as tempers flare

A NATO investigation into a naval standoff between French and Turkish ships in June has been rated too sensitive to discuss in public and does not apportion blame, as Paris and Ankara wage a war of words, diplomats have told Reuters....

1547. EP adopts resolution condemning Turkey's EastMed activities

With 601 votes in favour, 57 against and 36 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution condemning Turkey’s activities in the EEZ of Greece and Cyprus, ahead of next week’s extraordinary European Council summit that will focus on the heightened tensions in the eastern Mediterranean....

1548. EU solidarity to go beyond words, Michel tells Anastasiades

In a meeting with the European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday, the President of the Republic of Cyprus expressed hope that EU member states will show a united front during next week’s extraordinary European Council summit on Turkey....

1549. Athalassa national park in troubled waters

State authorities are warning the public to avoid contact with the water at the lake in Athalassa National park, following reports of dead fish floating upside down at the surface...

1550. The Cypriot aspect of the eastern Mediterranean crisis

A few days ago, the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community made an important statement, involving the future of the Cyprus Problem. At a time when Greek-Turkish relations are highly tense, and just before the withdrawal of the Oruc Reis from the waters of the eastern Mediterranean, Mustafa Akinci announced that a new conference on the Cyprus Problem is imminent....

1551. EU foreign affairs chief asks for ‘space to work with Turkish leadership’

The European Commission’s vice president in charge of foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, on Tuesday urged leaders meeting later in month at an emergency European Council summit on Turkey and recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, “to create the urgently needed space to work with the Turkish leadership, to achieve a de-escalation that will allow to pursue lasting solutions to the underlying problems of today’s crisis.”...

1552. Athens and Ankara in dialogue rehearsal

In the wake of the almost month-long standoff between Greece and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, the foreign ministers of both countries, Nikos Dendias and Mevlut Cavusoglu, give their analysis of the situation and the way forward in articles they wrote exclusively for Kathimerini...

1553. Sanctions unfeasible and ineffective

Nathalie Tocci was a close adviser to former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, during the years when the Cyprus Problem came – according to many - closer than ever to a solution. Today, she is a close advisor to Josep Borrell and, having monitored the Cyprus Problem for many years and having played a central role in the effort to formulate a European strategy for foreign policy, she has a strong view not only on Cyprus but also on the Greek-Turkish conflict. At the same time, she takes a critical approach to the efforts exerted by Athens and Nicosia to link sanctions against Turkey with those against Belarus. ...

1554. US facility plans in Cyprus draw reactions

Turkey is calling on the United States to 'return to its traditional policy of neutrality' following Mike Pompeo’s visit in Nicosia where he announced an American training facility on the island...

1555. Pompeo coming to sound Nicosia out

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to arrive in Cyprus on Saturday evening, a day after surprising reporters on a plane en route to Doha saying he wanted to swing by the island to hear a fresh perspective on regional tensions...

1556. Maltese FM calls for EU solidarity with frontline countries

Acting President of the Republic, President of the House of Representatives, Demetris Syllouris received Malta’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Evarist Bartolo on Friday, who called for more EU solidarity with frontline countries....

1557. Anastasiades finds sympathetic ear at MED7

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades highlighted a need for a decisive EU stance towards Turkey, while praising his French counterpart for showing “practical and stable support” towards Cyprus...

1558. Solar panels being installed in over 400 Cyprus schools

Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou said Tuesday that the Cyprus Electricity Authority has begun the process of insulating and installing solar panels at 405 schools across Cyprus, allowing schools to take on the extra electricity load of air conditioners that are desperately needed as the heatwave rages on. Currently, 107 schools have solar panels....

1559. Lavrov says Russia ready to support peace

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says his country stands ready to help diffuse tensions in the region while criticizing US efforts for fueling conflict rather than promoting peaceful solutions...

1560. Turkey: Russia to hold live-fire exercises in Mediterranean

Turkey has announced that Russia will hold live-fire naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, amid escalating tensions between Turkey and its coastal neighbors Greece and Cyprus over rights to search for energy resources in the region. ...