US State Department spokesperson Philip Crowley on Friday hailed progress made in the Cypriot reunification talks and promised Washington’s support for a “just and lasting” settlement. Crowley said the US was “encouraged” by a statement of progress following the latest meeting of Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader …
Read More »Bulgaria and Turkey consider joint gas terminal project
Bulgarian Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traycho Traykov and his Turkish counterpart Taner Yildiz have discussed a possible joint project for a liquefied gas terminal. The port will have a 6 billion cub.m. capacity and will be located on the Turkish coast.
Read More »Participants see progress in Cypriot reunification talks
Progress has been made in talks to reunify Cyprus, leaders of the two communities on the divided island said after meeting Tuesday (March 30th). The session was the last ahead of a break for presidential elections in the Turkish-dominated north, scheduled for April 18th. “After many meetings … we are …
Read More »Merkel urges Turkey to open ports to Cyprus
German Chancellor Angela Merkel s Monday aid that in order to achieve progress in its EU accession talks Turkey should open its ports to ships and planes from Cyprus and help press Iran to stop its controversial nuclear program.
Read More »Turkey rejects privileged EU partnership idea
Turkey’s chief negotiator with the EU, Egemen Bagis, has rejected Germany’s idea of privileged partnership for Turkey, instead of full membership. After talks with EU officials in Brussels on Friday (March 26th), he told reporters that there is no such term in the EU acquis. “The privileged partnership just does …
Read More »Nabucco Pipeline ‘Likely Operational in 2018’
The European Union-backed gas pipeline Nabucco is likely to begin operations in 2018, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said, a statement which was later denied by the consortium behind the project. “I hope we will make the final decision in 2010 to build the pipeline,” he said. The odds of …
Read More »Turkey’s FM visits Macedonia
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will pay a formal visit to Macedonia on Wednesday upon an invitation of his Macedonian counterpart Antonio Milososki.
Read More »Greek Cypriot archbishop visits Turkish-run north
Greek Cypriot Archbishop Chrysostomos II arrived in the Turkish dominated northern part of Cyprus on Monday (March 22nd), the first such visit since 1974, when the island was separated into Turkish-dominated north and Greek-dominated south. Chrysostomos II is trying to gain support for the restoration of an ancient monastery
Read More »Turkey to change Constitution to move closer to EU
Turkey’s government said on Monday it would table several changes to the Constitution to make it more democratic and to boost the chance for its entry into the European Union. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said the constitutional amendments must be adopted and
Read More »UN envoy to Cyprus rejects reports of meeting on Cyprus
UN envoy to Cyprus Alexander Downer rejected media speculation Monday (March 15th) about an upcoming international conference on Cyprus. According to the reports, the meeting would discuss the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, which regulates
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