Dendias visits Cyprus amid rising East Med tension

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (right) visited Nicosia Monday for talks with his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides (left). Dendias said that top European Union diplomats will decide next week on how to respond to Turkey's bid to drill for gas in waters where Cyprus has licensed European energy companies to conduct a hydrocarbons search. Cyprus called Turkey's latest drilling bid a "severe escalation," which Dendias said flouts international law. [CNA]