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871. Turkey reacts to US plan for military education, training for Cyprus

Turkey expressed its disagreement over a US government plan to make International Military Education and Training (IMET) available to Cyprus, saying it does not help resolve the island’s division....

872. Berlin to press Ankara over drilling plans for East Med

Berlin plans to play an active role, in the context of Germany's presidency of the European Council, in easing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean where Turkey plans to expand its exploration for oil and gas in contravention of Greek and Cypriot exclusive economic zones...

873. Anastasiades: Patriotic realism dictates solution through diplomacy, not weapons

Instead of a catastrophic scenario, we opt for diplomacy, the weapons of international law and Cyprus’ status as an EU member state. This is what is dictated by patriotic realism and rationalism, and not a rhetoric of empty slogans. The coming days are crucial as regards initiatives taken by the EU and the US in view of preventing a potential crisis through targeted measures towards Turkey....

874. Aegean tension fueling Berlin concern

With Germany assuming the European Union presidency on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concern over developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Greek-Turkish relations in response to questions from MPs in the Bundestag....

875. EPP head calls for more EU support for Greece, Cyprus vis-a-vis Turkey

The chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP) and German MEP on Tuesday urged the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, to call for debate on “ongoing and repeated Turkish aggressions” against Greece and Cyprus....

876. No progress among EU leaders on virus recovery deal

European Union leaders found that a quick deal on the bloc's future long-term budget and a multibillion-euro post-pandemic recovery plan remained beyond their reach Friday as the coronavirus ravages their economies....

877. Cyprus, Greece to be Israeli tourists' first destination, Netanyhu says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he aims to resume regular flights to and from Israel by August 1, noting Greece and Cyprus will be the first destination for Israeli tourists....

878. Greece and Italy sign ‘historic’ maritime borders accord

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday inked a maritime borders agreement delimiting an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries....

879. Greek PM says Greece ready for any challenge

Amid renewed tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed on Wednesday that Greece “will face all challenges with consistency, stability, confidence and always with a commitment to international law, as it always does.”...

880. The growing complications of the reopening of checkpoints

The discussion for the reopening of checkpoints will be anything but an easy feat, as in addition to the role played by the epidemiological situation, the matter is inevitably being politicized in view of ‘elections’ set to take place in the north, but also in light of the UNSG’s report expected around the end of June....

881. Ankara sparks renewed tensions with Athens over claim for 24 blocks

Ankara on Tuesday responded to a complaint from Athens concerning a map published in the Turkish government’s gazette outlining areas where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration licenses, including several within Greece’s continental shelf, by insisting that these areas are within the boundaries Turkey has submitted to the United Nations. ...

882. Tensions mount over plans for high-rises on iconic Nicosia street

After tensions mounted in recent days over plans for the construction of a high-rise building complex on the iconic Gladstone Street in central Nicosia which hosts historic and traditional listed buildings, the developers of the planned construction fired back on Monday, claiming the plans are in line with the town planning regulations of the Nicosia Master Plan....

883. Quarantined Turkish Cypriots cross north

Two Turkish Cypriot students who were quarantined in the south after traveling amid the coronavirus pandemic have been transferred to the north, putting to the test the levels of cooperation between the two sides on the divided island...

884. Repatriations cutting it close to flight ban

Hundreds of citizens have asked to be repatriated to the Republic of Cyprus, prompting the government to seek options to beat a universal ban on all flights that goes into effect on Saturday...

885. Cyprus to ban flights from 28 countries

As of Saturday, flights to the Larnaca and Paphos airports from 28 countries will be banned, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou announced on Tuesday night, noting that this stricter measure does not affect cargo....

886. Travelers speak of horror under quarantine

Dozens of travelers who arrived in Cyprus without a required health certificate for the coronavirus say they were hurried to the mountains in the dead of night and treated like “criminals” and “lepers"...

887. Officials cave in after airport tension

Government officials got a taste of their own medicine on Monday after students who flew in without complying with the latest coronavirus guidelines were granted an exception after hours of tension at the airports and inside the plane...

888. Flights booked solid before 6pm deadline

Daytime flights from Athens to the Republic of Cyprus were sold out on Monday after the government said new arrivals on evening flights after 6pm would not be allowed into the country without a valid health certificate...

889. 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....

890. UN police block protesters at Ledra checkpoint

UN police in Cyprus were taking no chances at the Ledra checkpoint on Monday, blocking Turkish Cypriot demonstrators in the north who wanted to bring flowers to Greek Cypriot riot police behind fortified barricades in the south...

891. EU Commission notified of checkpoint closures

The European Commission has been informed of the temporary closing of four checkpoints, and said it would continue monitoring the situation closely in order to ensure that each closure and health checks remain in accordance with the Green Line Regulation....

892. Christodoulides talks Turkish activity in EEZ, Varosha with UNSG

Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva on Monday....

893. France stands by Greece and Cyprus, says French Defense Minister

France will stand by Greece and Cyprus, supporting both in their disputes with Turkey over maritime zones in the Mediterranean, French Defence Minister Florence Parly was quoted saying in a Greek newspaper on Sunday....

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

895. Hydrocarbon exploration in Cyprus EEZ on track, minister says

A French-Italian consortium between oil giants Total and ENI will start drilling in Block 6 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone on schedule in April despite an “escalation” in tension from Turkey, Cypriot Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis has said....

896. 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....

897. Amid tension, Greece, Turkey hold military-to-military talks

A delegation of Turkish military officials is due in Athens to resume confidence-building talks amid tension between the two NATO members over maritime oil-and-gas drilling rights....

898. UK 'deplores' Turkey's actions in Cyprus EEZ

The British Government’s position regarding the Cyprus issue and Turkey’s activity within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus does not change now that the UK has exited the European Union, the Minister for Europe Christopher Pincher said. ...

899. Government welcomes support expressed in US Senate

The Government Spokesman Kyriakos Kousios welcomed on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus the US position that Turkey is the sole party contributing to rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, and not Greece or Cyprus....

900. 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....