Turkey

Namely, the Russian embassy in Sweden announced on its website that the Scandinavian country will become a legitimate target of Russian retaliatory measures if it joins NATO.

Since the tragic earthquakes in Turkey it appears that a sense of calm is prevailing in the Aegean - at least for the moment - that has led to an improvement in ties between Greece and Turkey and a decrease in threats and provocations from Ankara.

BUDAPEST - Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic said on Tuesday in Budapest Serbia and Hungary would invite Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Greece and Turkey to join the construction of a regional high-speed rail line that would first connect Budapest and Belgrade and then also Nis and Presevo, in the south of central Serbia.

Two men accused of planning an extremist attack on a Jewish restaurant in central Athens and possibly other targets that would produce mass civilian casualties have been arrested on terrorism charges in Greece, police said Tuesday.

The deputy foreign ministers of Syria, Turkey, Iran and Russia will meet in April in Moscow, Turkish and Iranian officials said on Tuesday, building on contacts between Ankara and Damascus after years of hostilities during the Syrian war.

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Brussels, March 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

In his introductory statement to his cabinet, Mitsotakis reviewed his tenure, recalling all the issues his government had to deal with - the pandemic, issues with neighbour Turkey in the Aegean, the energy crisis, the the war in Ukraine, and a series of natural disasters.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's choice to repeat a congratulatory telegram on the national holiday of March 25, two years after a similar move on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Greek independence in 2021, is seen to reflect Ankara's intention to continue on a low-key path and open channels of communication with Athens. 

Chairman of Fidesz Party Viktor Orban (C) takes his oath as Prime Minister of Hungary after he was re-elected for his fourth consecutive term in the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, 16 May 2022. EPA-EFE/Tibor Illyes

About 60,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their homeland after the Feb. 6 earthquakes devastated their homes in Türkiye, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on March 27.

"Around 60,000 Syrians living in Türkiye have returned to their own land due to the loss of their homes and relatives," Akar said speaking at a military bordar post in the southern Hatay province.

Nicosia says a new effort by Greece and Turkey to improve their relations is positive, but Greek Cypriot officials have been less excited about Athens and Ankara supporting each other's bids in the United Nations.