Nicosia

The leaders of the Turkish and Greek sides of Cyprus are committed to reaching a peace deal before the year ends, but gaps on controversial issues remain, a United Nations special envoy has said. 

The Greek bourse saw sellers focus on its non-bank stocks on Thursday, leading to notable losses for its benchmark.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 566.58 points, shedding 1.47 percent from Wednesday's 575.06 points. The large-cap FTSE 25 index contracted 1.68 percent to end at 1,524.17 points, though small-caps rose 1.26 percent.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Aug. 31 that Turkey will continue to do its part for a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus issue. 

Çavuşoğlu's remarks came during a press conference in Nicosia alongside Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün. 

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci met in Nicosia's United Nations-patrolled buffer zone on Thursday in a symbolic show of good will after the two sides agreed to relaunch stalled peace talks aimed at reunifying the divided island.

The talks are to start again on June 8, the two leaders agreed.

The third consecutive day of stock gains in the Greek bourse on Friday brought the weekly gains of the benchmark to 3.76 percent and those of the bank index to over 10 percent, as the government edged ever closer to fulfilling most of the demands of its creditors.

Stocks rallied at the Athens bourse on Thursday as the prospect of an agreement between Greece and its creditors drew nearer. The benchmark cleared 600 points and banks earned 7.13 percent.

Many in Nicosia, Athens, Brussels and Washington are confident - and some concerned - that the Cyprus issue may be resolved by the end of the year. In the US, especially, top officials are eager for this to happen by the end of 2016, as every US government likes to wrap up as many international affairs as possible before their term ends so as to boost its legacy.

Bulgarian and Cyprus on Friday signed a memorandum that will help them fight against the trafficking in artifacts and efforts to retrieve stolen items, the Culture Ministry has said.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov and Cyprus Transport Minister Marios Demetriades as the former was visiting the island.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz will pay a visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, during which he will also come together with Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Ak?nc?. 

Schulz will visit Ak?nc? in Nicosia in the afternoon of March 29, a written statement issued by the Turkish Cypriot presidency stated on March 24.

Greek Cyprus has launched a third licensing round for offshore oil and gas drilling off the Mediterranean island's southern coast.

"The decision to launch this licensing round was based on the huge interest by international companies to carry out explorations offshore Cyprus despite the energy industry's not so favorable conditions," said government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides.