Cyprus government

Nicosia has criticized UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for failing to condemn Turkey's violation of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

A reference in Friday’s European Council conclusions calling on Turkey to respect Cyprus’s sovereign rights left Athens and Nicosia content with the outcome of the European Union leaders’ summit in Brussels.

Cyprus is to raise the issue of Turkey’s violation of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at Thursday’s European Council meeting after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu raised the specter on Wednesday of the island being divided into two separate states.

Cyprus threatens to block Turkey's EU bid

NICOSIA -- Cyprus has announced that it will prevent Turkey's progress in the negotiations for EU membership.

The reason is Turkey's search for natural gas in the same undersea area of Mediterranean.

International lenders concluded a fifth review of Cyprus’s economy on Friday, saying the island was making “relatively good progress” after a bailout last year but that key challenges lay ahead.