Eastern Mediterranean

Turkey has underlined that any future initiative for the resolution of the decades-old Cyprus problem should be based on “current realities” and on the fact that Turkish and Greek Cypriots have differing conceptions of a new federal state. 

Turkey’s foreign trade gap rose to $76.7 billion in 2017, with a 36.8 percent year-on-year increase, official data has shown. 

Confidence in Turkey’s services, retail trade and construction sectors improved in January compared to the previous month, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced on Jan. 25.

Turkey received nearly $4.5 billion equity investment from the European Union between January and November last year, marking a 64.3 percent rise year-on-year, the Economy Ministry said on Jan. 23.

Turkey's agreement with the European Union to curb human trafficking across the Aegean appears to be in jeopardy again after a top Turkish official warned that a current impasse with the EU gives Ankara no reason to honor the deal. 

A collapse of the deal would put more pressure on Greek islands where thousands of migrants are cooped up in overcrowded reception centers. 

The trade volume between Turkey and the U.S. has expanded by nearly 17 percent in the first 11 months of 2017 compared to the same period the year before and reached $18.7 billion despite the political tensions between the two countries, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 19.

An internal solution to the problems in Syria “would be much better,” the head of the United Nations said on Jan. 16.

Following repeated threats by Turkey to begin explorations for hydrocarbons in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a spokesman for the illegal Turkish-Cypriot entity in northern Cyprus upped the ante with Nicosia further on Monday, saying that the island's natural resources must be shared between the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot communities.

The detonators seized from the Tanzania-flagged freighter Andromeda in the Cretan port of Iraklio are seen in this handout photo made available Saturday by the Hellenic Coast Guard. Authorities said the vessel was sailing from Turkey to Libya with 29 crates of explosives and other materials that could be used to construct bombs. The eight crew members are to face a prosecutor in Piraeus today.

Turkey criticized a joint statement of southern EU member states on the Cyprus issue as both distorted and unhelpful on Jan. 12.