Member states of the Council of Europe

Greek Cyprus is in a bid to "stall for time" by rejecting the Turkish Cyprus's proposal for cooperation on the joint exploration and profit-sharing of hydrocarbon resources while suggesting cooperation with Turkey, Turkish energy minister Fatih Dönmez has said.

The number of visitors coming into Greece by road is slipping this year after coming to 8.8 million in 2018. These visitors accounted for 29 percent of the total of 30.3 million (without cruise passengers) who visited the country last year, according to a new study by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) on the prospects of tourism by road this year.

Turkish Cargo, a division of national flag-carrier Turkish Airlines, carried an endangered griffon vulture to Serbia from Turkey, the company said on July 17.

Responding to sanctions announced by the European Union over Turkey's drilling activities within Cyprus' territorial waters, Ankara on Tuesday said that it will dispatch a fourth vessel, the Oruc Reis, to the region.

European sanctions will not make Turkey to give up on drilling near Cyprus, the Turkish foreign ministry said. Ankara responded to yesterday's decision by EU foreign ministers to take measures against Turkey for its gas drilling in the waters of the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday there is no need to take very seriously decisions made by the European Union to curb contacts and funding for Ankara over its drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus.
He made the comment at a news conference, broadcast by CNN Turk, in the North Macedonian capital Skopje.

The foreign ministers of the countries in the European Union have imposed initial sanctions against Turkey. The reason is gas drilling in the waters of the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus.

Turkey's foreign minister held talks over the phone on July 12 with his Slovak, Slovenian, Romanian and Maltese counterparts over recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Bordering Greece and Bulgaria, Turkey's northwestern Edirne province, looks forward to slake international visitors' thirst for tourism with its historical sites, cultural heritage, rich cuisine, faith tourism and natural beauty.

The European Union is set to curb contacts and funding for Ankara in retaliation for what it calls Turkey's "illegal" drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus and stands ready to ramp up sanctions further, a draft statement seen by Reuters shows.