Cyprus dispute

Cyprus authorities say they're take extra efforts to ensure flight safety isn't compromised from Turkish warplanes and military drones flying inside Cypriot-monitored airspace without filing either flight plans or communicating with air traffic control.

Ankara has criticized the anchoring of USS Arleigh Burke, a United States Navy class of destroyer, at a Greek Cypriot port and said the steps taken in the region by the U.S. have damaged that county's long-standing neutral position on the Cyprus dispute.

The allegation that three hotels in Turkish Cyprus' Varosha city have been sold to a Turkish businessman by their Greek owners has sparked concerns in the Greek administration as the sale or transfer of real estate in the area opened to civilian visits three years ago after a 46-year hiatus is under the control of a commission.

Turkey will continue to protect the rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots to the region's energy resources, Foreign Minister Mevult Cavusoglu said Sunday.

"We have protected and continue to protect the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus and its surroundings over energy resources," Cavusoglu said.

Cyprus will offer Ukraine technical training on landmine clearing as part of its humanitarian assistance, its defense minister said on Friday.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who is visiting Cyprus on Friday, is set to tour areas where the training will take place.

The Turkish government has condemned an agreement between the National Guard of the State of New Jersey and the Defense Ministry of the Greek Cypriot Administration, calling on the U.S. to consider its policies concerning Cyprus.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, who is currently in Nicosia for a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, held a meeting with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday. 

Cypriot authorities will spend more than 100 million euros ($106 million) to repair dozens of dilapidated high-rise housing units built decades ago for refugees from the island's 1974 Turkish invasion, officials said Thursday.

The United Nations remains committed to helping rival Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots reach an agreement to bridge the island nation's ethnic rift, a senior UN official said Wednesday. The problem has been a source of instability in the east Mediterranean for decades.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is set to meet with the new Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus Konstantinos Kompos during his visit to Athens on Thursday, the first visit following the assumption of his new role.