Turkish Cyprus demands deadline for peace talks, rejects ‘perpetual negotiations'
Frustrated by decades of unfruitful negotiations between the Turkish and Greek sides to reunify the divided island of Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) Ambassador to Turkey Mustafa Lakadamyalı has stated that there should be a definite deadline for negotiations on the divided Mediterranean island, adding that the talks cannot go on forever. READ MORE
The Cypriot Euro Crisis is Also About Germany and Russia
There were messy and embarrassing mistakes along the way. But, in the end, German Chancellor Angela Merkel got what she wanted: an end to the endemic system of money laundering and corruption in Cyprus. READ MORE
A bailout for Cyprus, a geopolitical failure for Russia
Russia has a few interests at stake in the European Union bailout for Cyprus. The first and most obvious is that Russian citizens stand to lose billions of dollars worth of savings in Cyprus’s banking sector, which serves as a low-tax haven for Russian oligarchs. Those oligarchs, remember, wield outsize political power within Russia. The second is that Cyprus is a political client state of Moscow’s, a helpful little ally on such matters as sending arms to Syria. The third is symbolic, and doesn’t actually have that much to do with Cyprus itself, but with Russia’s standing in Europe. READ MORE
Searching for the One to Blame for Cyprus
Who has invented the tax on Cyprus bank accounts, which the Parliament of the island country doesn’t want to approve? The European Central Bank is trying to lay the blame on the President of Cyprus, and he, in his turn, blames the governments of the Eurozone countries. Meanwhile the issue, as well as the accounts in Cyprus banks have hung up for indefinite period, as they have not yet been able to “break” the MPs. Moscow also tries to take part in the resolution of this problem, which was appointed beyond its will as a “title sponsor” of Cyprus stabilization. READ MORE
Greek Cyprus ignores Turkey’s gas resistance
Greek Cyprus says it will continue natural gas talks with large companies despite Turkey’s strong opposition, blaming it with ‘showing its true face’ READ MORE
Turkey: Cyprus Gas Drilling Could be Geopolitical Accident Waiting to Happen
Energy exploration is adding a new wrinkle to the Turkish-Greek rivalry over the island of Cyprus. READ MORE
UN Chief Gives January Deadline For Cyprus Peace Progress
"Serious differences" remain between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders over how to reunite their divided island, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday after talks. READ MORE
NATO-EU Links Top Turkish President's Lisbon Agenda
Turkey and NATO’s ongoing disagreement over how relations between the alliance and the European Union should best be formulated will be a key issue at the upcoming NATO summit, Turkish President Abdullah Gül said Friday. READ MORE
Turkey Considers Cooperation With Greece On Illegal Immigration To Europe
Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou, on the margins of the Mediterranean Climate Change Initiative conference near Athens last week. The positive reporting of the Erdogan-Papandreou meeting marks the deepening rapprochement between the two countries, after their normalization slowed down in the second half of the 2000’s. READ MORE
