Cyprus dispute

Greek Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has said reunification talks can restart if Turkey respects the ethnically divided island’s “sovereign right to exploit” its offshore gas reserves.

Anastasiades said Dec. 31, 2014 that Turkey must stop trying to impose its will on its tiny neighbor, as reported by The Associated Press Jan. 1.

Expectations for a quick fix to the crisis in the Cyprus talks process appear to have come to a dead end. Turkey is reiterating that under no condition will it agree to abandon support for the equal partnership rights of the Turkish Cypriot people on - as well as off - the island, with the Greek Cypriots.

The recent internal agreement between Baghdad and Arbil should set an example for sharing potential energy resources off Cyprus, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, vowing that Turkey will never abandon the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Cypriot government on Tuesday shrugged off what it described as a Turkish attempt to create tension in relations between Athens and Nicosia, emphasizing that the two allies were perfectly in line on the issue of the island’s offshore hydrocarbon resources.

The third Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council ended on Saturday with a joint statement pledging goodwill and the intention for closer bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism and energy, as well as in curbing illegal immigration.

Turkish PM Davutoğlu has called for a closer cooperation with Greece during his visit to Athens as part of the third High Level Strategic Council between both countries, while playing down differences, particularly on the Cyprus issue

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Turkish Premier Ahmet Davutoglu are expected to issue a joint statement on Saturday, at the end of the latter’s two-day visit to Athens, following what appears to have been a productive day of talks on Friday.

Three high ranking EU officials will visit Ankara next week to discuss Turkey's EU membership and the Cyprus dispute, Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkır announced on Dec. 4.

Ankara and Athens are of the same mind about the importance of Cypriot negotiations' continuing, Turkish and Greek top diplomats say, though they maintain their opposing views for a solution of the ongoing gas dispute.

Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos arrived in Ankara Friday night for two days of talks. Ahead of his visit he sought to make it clear that Greece is prepared to discuss maritime issues with Turkey regardless of its recent agreement with Cyprus and Egypt.