Landforms

Recent progress in the US-Cyprus security relationship was at the center of talks between US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale and Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Chrostodoulides, the State Department said in a press release, adding that both sides expressed their commitment to cooperate on efforts to enhance stability, security and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Repair crews worked into the night on Friday to repair the damage from a blast at a Public Power Corporation plant in Iraklio on Crete, which had left many parts of the island region without electricity for several hours, including its industrial zone and the city center.

Greece is at the center of regional efforts to secure alternative energy routes to supply Europe, according to US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt.

Photos of Turkish navy divers holding a Turkish flag under the sea in Greek island Crete's Souda Bay have stirred reaction in Greece, local media has reported.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has generated fresh controversy by claiming that the Aegean Sea and Cyprus lie within Turkey's territorial waters, according to reports Friday.
"We control the sea and the seabed. The seas. The Black Sea, the Aegean, the Eastern Mediterraenan which also includes Cyprus," Akar reportedly said.

Waves lash the Tourlitis lighthouse off the Aegean island of Andros Thursday amid strong winds. Built in 1887, the lighthouse, which sits atop a spindly rock spire, is known as Greece's first automated lighthouse which could function without a keeper. Following its destruction during World War Two, it was rebuilt in 1994 with funding from the Goulandris family.

Israel plans to build advanced marine radar on the Greek island of Crete in a bid to watch the route of a planned natural gas pipeline that will carry gas to Greek Cyprus and Greece.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took to Twitter in the early hours of Thursday to hail a "productive meeting" with the leaders of Greece, Cyprus and Israel in Jerusalem.

"Had a productive meeting with leaders from #Israel, #Greece and #Cyprus on key issues in the Eastern Mediterranean," Pompeo tweeted.

In a joint statement in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the leaders of Greece, Israel and Cyprus and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, agreed to further entrench cooperation between all four countries, boosting energy and security cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

A three-way summit between Cyprus, Greece, and Israel with the participation of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent a strong message to Ankara regarding energy security and its hostile behaviour in the Eastern Mediterranean.