UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday (January 15th) that all concerned parties should encourage Turkish and Greek Cypriots in their efforts to find a settlement to the long-standing Cypriot issue. His remarks came a few days after Angela Merkel visited Cyprus and criticised the Turkish Cypriots for lack of …
Read More »Cypriot leaders met for reunification talks
Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu met on Wednesday (January 12th) to discuss governance and power-sharing as part of ongoing talks to reunify the island. “Both sides put
Read More »Bulgarian Defense Minister visits Turkey
Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul has met his Bulgarian counterpart Anyu Angelov in Ankara. Before meeting his Bulgarian counterpart Gonul said that after Bulgaria’s NATO accession
Read More »Assessing Turkey’s Foreign Policy Strategy and Missed Opportunities in the West
A recent public opinion poll shows that 43% of Turkish citizens surveyed view the United States as the biggest threat the country. Israel was viewed by 23.7% as the biggest threat, while traditional ‘enemy’ Greece was viewed as the biggest threat by only 2.3% (Iran 3%, Iraq 2.1%, Russia 1.7%). …
Read More »Merkel says Turkey must put more effort to resolve Cyprus conflict
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in Cyprus on the second leg of her two-day Mediterranean tour. After meeting with Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias, Merkel said it was up to Turkey to put more effort
Read More »Cyprus threatens to block Turkey’s EU bid
Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou said Sunday (January 9th) that Nicosia would never agree to Turkey’s EU accession before the Cypriot issue is resolved. “We not only do not
Read More »Turkish, Greek prime ministers advocate co-operation
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou addressed the annual conference of Turkish ambassadors in the eastern city of Erzurum on Friday (January 7th). Participants outlined the challenges and problems affecting
Read More »Greek Prime Minister meets Turkish counterpart in eastern Turkey
The Greek prime minister is meeting his Turkish counterpart in eastern Turkey and is expected to discuss his country’s plans to build a fence along part of their mutual border to try to stop thousands of illegal migrants crossing into EU member Greece every month. The two Prime Ministers are …
Read More »Mass grave discovered in Turkey
A mass grave has been discovered in a field in southeast Turkey, local media reported on Wednesday (January 5th). The grave is believed to contain the remains of Kurds who went missing in the 1990s. The bones of eight
Read More »Cypriot leaders to discuss reunification again at the end of January
Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu will meet with UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban for further talks at the end of January in Geneva, where he is expected to amplify the message that progress must be forthcoming. In a report to the Security Council last month …
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