Ankara

The announcement in Ankara on Tuesday that part of the fenced-off ghost town of Varosha in Turkish-occupied Cyprus will be opened for development by Turkish Cypriots was seen in Greece as seriously undermining the recent efforts between the two countries for dialogue.

Turkey and Russia will hold two-day talks on Syria and Libya, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has an-nounced, amid ongoing ceasefires in both theaters.

Turkish security forces "neutralized" at least nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry announced on Aug. 15.

Three of the terrorists were neutralized in air-backed operations in Haftanin, and another six terrorists in the Zap and Avasin regions, the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkey has responded to all interventions on its energy exploration ship in the Eastern Mediterranean and will continue to do so in the future, the Turkish defense minister said on Aug. 14. 

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın spoke via telephone on Aug. 14 with U.S. National Security Advisor Robert C. O'Brien about bilateral relations, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean and Palestine, according to an official statement.  

The eyes of the whole world are focused there because of the new, dangerous tensions between Athens and Ankara, RTS writes, referring to the Greek media.
Athens is demanding the deployment of American forces.

During an EU teleconference of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on Friday, Greece and Germany disagreed on the content of the statement officials had planned to issue after the talks, according to diplomatic sources.

The average Greek naturally feels concerned and insecure about the persisting tension in Greek-Turkish relations.

All sorts of pundits and journalists that are purported champions of the notions of "political correctness" and "equal distance" are here presented with a good opportunity to express their opinion in public.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Friday he hoped that all parties involved in a dispute in the eastern Mediterranean Sea will act according to international law and that there will be no conflict.

Any move against Turkey's vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean will get a response, the country's defense minister, Hulusi Akar, said in a video message to Turkish crew members.

"Everyone must know how determined we are on this issue," Akar was quoted as saying by Turkish media.