Greek Cypriots

 Greek Foreign Ministry rebuffs Turkish calls to exert pressure on Anastasiades

Greece rejected on Thursday an attempt by Turkey to embroil it in the latest dispute that has broken out on Cyprus in the wake of Nicosia deciding to put reunification talks on hold after Ankara issued a maritime directive for an area within the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The suspension is in response to Turkey’s plans to search for oil and gas in waters the Greek Cypriot government claims

Cyprus said on Monday peace talks for the ethnically divided island could suffer if Turkey kept on opposing attempts by Nicosia to explore for gas off its southern coast.

The Cypriot government has licensed multinationals to explore for hydrocarbons in the area and Italy's ENI currently has a platform drill at one site.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu will meet on Thursday in the context of ongoing negotiations to reunify the Mediterranean island.

Talks will be attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special adviser Espen Barth Eide.

A United Nations envoy says talks to reunify the ethnically divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have moved up a gear with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders looking to bridge gaps on core issues.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has slammed Ankara and Turkish-Cypriot officials for lack of progress on reunification talks suggesting that their real objective is to upgrade the illegal state in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island.

Commenting about George Vassiliou, the late Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş said he was no different than other Greek Cypriot leaders; the only difference might have been his ability to make the nastiest remarks with a smiling face. “He is a smiling devil… No different than the others,” he said. He was wrong.

On his second working day in office, on Sept. 1, Turkey’s new President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will make his maiden foreign trip to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has urged for a solution to be found on the divided island of Cyprus, speaking at a ceremony in Nicosia to mark the 40th anniversary of Turkey’s military intervention on July 20, 1974.

This Saturday, July 12, there was a solemn ceremony in Cyprus. Forty years after he went missing, the remains of a Greek Cypriot was finally laid to rest. This was the first-ever funeral held in northern Cyprus for a Greek Cypriot missing person.