Cyprus

Cypriot government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou has rejected Turkish press reports that President Nicos Anastasiades had secretly agreed on a deal with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to divert a proposed natural gas pipeline to Turkey in exchange for a solution of the Cyprus problem.

Hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged all parties engaging in gas exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean not to pressure it over Ankara's own energy plans in the region, the US State Department said Washington "discourages any actions or rhetoric that increase tensions in the region."

In what was seen as a warning aimed at Greece, Cyprus and the US, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged all parties engaging in gas exploration activities in the Eastern Mediterranean not to pressure it over Ankara's own energy plans in the region.

A group of Greek-Cypriot university students went on a two-day hunger strike on Tuesday outside the Turkish Consulate in Thessaloniki on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the unilateral proclamation of the Turkish-Cypriot state in the occupied north of Cyprus on Thursday.

A march to the Turkish Consulate has also been planned for Thursday.

An accord reunifying ethnically split Cyprus could unlock a deal to convey gas discovered in fields off Israel, Egypt and Cyprus to markets through neighboring Turkey's existing pipeline network, the leader of the island's breakaway Turkish Cypriots said Monday.

An accord reunifying ethnically split Cyprus could unlock a deal to convey gas discovered in fields off Israel, Egypt and Cyprus to markets through neighboring Turkey's existing pipeline network, the leader of the island's breakaway Turkish Cypriots said on Nov. 12.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reportedly reiterated Ankara's intention to persist with its energy plans in the Eastern Mediterranean, in pointed remarks seen addressed to Greece, Cyprus and the United States.

A Turkish Cypriot girl in traditional dress gives gifts to a Greek Cypriot as he drives through the newly opened checkpoint linking the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in Lefka-Aplici, Monday.

The drillship Stena IceMax, commissioned by US oil giant ExxonMobil to drill for hydrocarbons, has been in Block 10 of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone since Sunday night, according to Cypriot state radio RIK.

The ship went straight to Block 10 without first stopping off at Limassol as had been expected, RIK reported.

Turkey's defense minister Hulusi Akar has presented maps to the Libyan government in a bid to indicate that Greece is trying to encroach upon Libya's continental shelf, according to reports in Turkey's Yeni Safak newspaper.

In its reports, the newspaper accuses Greece of "stealing Libya's EEZ," referring to the country's exclusive economic zone.