Lisbon

The priorities of the Portuguese EU presidency which commenced on 1 January, the upcoming Greek-Turkish exploratory talks, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the migration crisis were the focus of talks in Lisbon today between Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias and his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Rome on Wednesday.

In a tweet, Dendias said that talks focused on bilateral relations and cooperation, as well as recent developments in the eastern Mediterranean and the broader region.

The new, 61st round of exploratory talks between Athens and Ankara over territorial claims in the Mediterranean Sea will start on January 25 in Istanbul, Greece's Foreign Ministry announced on Monday evening.

Greece hopes that its exploratory talks with Turkey will restart from where they left off in March 2016, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Portugal on Sunday for a meeting with his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa on Monday in Lisbon.

The meeting will be held in the context of Portugal taking over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first half of 2021.

Turkey and France are working on a roadmap to normalize ties and talks are going well, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, adding Ankara was ready to improve ties with its NATO ally if Paris showed the same willingness.

Ljubljana – The Lonely Planet has compiled a list of the world’s eight most sustainable cities, among them Ljubljana. The capital is praised for being liveable, “extremely clean and increasingly green”. The list also includes Copenhagen, Portland, Singapore, Lisbon, Bengaluru, Vancouver and San Francisco.

Famous Portuguese football players, Cristiano Ronaldo continues his goalscoring reccord, overtaking Pelé's official goal tally of 757 with his 758th goal.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday that Turkey should face consequences if it continues its "provocative actions" against Greece.

Speaking at the online Lisbon Web Summit on Friday, he said that issues between Greece and Turkey concern Europe and NATO as well, as they affect the entire Eastern Mediterranean region.

The 2019-2020 Champions League, suspended since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be completed in a 'Final Eight' in Lisbon in August instead of Istanbul, UEFA said on June 17.