Economic sanctions

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will hold a teleconference with the chairman of EU leaders Charles Michel on Thursday afternoon to discuss the EU's long term budget and the effectiveness of the EU's Operation Irini that aims to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya.

When supporters of Libya's United Nations-recognised government took to the streets of Tripoli last week to celebrate the retreat of a renegade general, alongside the Libyan flags they carried was a large white teddy bear with a pink nose.

Gene Rossides, a historic figure in the Greek-American community and the main force behind the US arms embargo against Turkey after the invasion of Cyprus, died at the age of 92. His daughter confirmed his passing on Saturday at his home in Washington.

The US State Department has affirmed Washington's view of the Republic of Cyprus as a "valued partner and friend in the Eastern Mediterranean" but it has fallen short of offering a commitment on lifting the decades-old arms embargo.

The European Union has imposed additional sanctions in Syria against eight people and two companies, the European Council announced on Monday.

The Council noted that eight "prominent" Syrian businessmen were added to the sanctions list as their "activities directly benefited the Assad regime, including through projects on land alienated by people displaced by the conflict ".

By George Gilson

If the geopolitical volatility in the Balkans before WWI led to its description as the powder keg or tinder box of Europe, today the same many be said of the Southeastern Mediterranean but on a more expansive geographic scale, drawing in the US.

Greece did not officially take a position on the results of Sunday's Berlin conference on Libya, but 'government sources' talking to media off-the-record emphasized the positives.

Turkish parliament speaker on Dec. 22 said his country was not obliged to the U.S. or any other country due to the global politics evolving from a two-polar to a multi-polar one that offers many alternatives.

Turkey has warned that US moves to lift a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus would undermine efforts to reunite the Mediterranean island and create a "dangerous escalation."
The US Congress voted Tuesday to end the embargo on the island, which was imposed in 1987 with the aim of preventing an arms buildup that would obstruct diplomatic efforts at a peace settlement.

EU foreign ministers agreed on economic sanctions over Turkish drilling operations near Cyprus, Reuters reported. However, the indication of specific names is left to a later stage.