ISTANBUL

After the mayoral election result in Istanbul was cancelled, the June 23 re-run is not being seen as a fresh local election but as a referendum on the future of Turkish democracy.

Ushering in a new era in the relationship between Athens and the Phanar, Greek Archbishop Ieronymos and visiting Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios together attended the inauguration of a gerontology center in the town of Dilesi in Viotia, central Greece, on Thursday. Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos was also at the event. 

Despite the fact that ongoing talks between Greek and Turkish military officials in Athens are ostensibly focused on finding ways to revive confidence-building measures, Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that he has instructed his country's delegation to place all the differences dividing Athens and Ankara in the Aegean, Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean "on the table."

A detailed ruling by the Supreme Election Council (YSK) on its justification for the cancellation of the March 31 Istanbul polls has revealed that the decision was politically-motivated and failed to prove that alleged irregularities had an impact on the election results, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has said.

Turkey's top election body on May 22 released the detailed ruling for Istanbul revote to be held on June 23.     

Archbishop Ieronymos received Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios on Wednesday in what has been described as a visit intended to the bury the hatchet between Athens and the Phanar. 

Vartholomaios described the thaw in relations between the two leaders saying, "Blood cannot be turned into water."

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios is expected in Athens on Wednesday for talks with Greek Archbishop Ieronymos that are widely expected to usher in a new era in relations between the Church of Greece and the Phanar.

The Republican People's Party (CHP) has announced the formation of a new working group to campaign for Istanbul mayoral candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu ahead of do-over elections slated for June 23.

The first and only six-minaret mosque of Ottoman architecture - the iconic Blue Mosque in Istanbul - is undergoing the most comprehensive restoration in its 400-year history.

US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt has congratulated the newly-elected leader of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Elpidophoros.