Middle Eastern countries

"We have turned a page in Greek-Israeli relations and there's no going back," says Dan Mariaschin, executive vice president and chief executive of B'Nai-B'rith, one of the two biggest American-Israeli organizations in the United States.

Ankara's announcement on Friday that it is dispatching a vessel to conduct drilling operations off northeastern Cyprus coupled with a spike in Turkish violations of Greek airspace is being seen as a response to, if not an outright snub of sanctions announced a few days ago by the European Union Foreign Affairs Council over its activities within the Eastern Mediterranean island's territorial wat

Cyprus on Friday accused Turkey of violating international law by launching operations off the island in search of oil and gas.
Earlier on Friday, Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay was quoted as saying the drilling ship Fatih had started operations off the north-north-east coast of Cyprus.

The Turkish oil-and-gas drilling ship Fatih has started its operations off the coast of northeastern Cyprus, Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay said on Friday, despite warnings from European Union for Ankara to stand down. 

On Monday, the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted a framework for restrictive measures against Turkey over its drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean. 

Turkey's president said on Nov. 14 his nation will never allow anyone to usurp the Turkish Cypriots' rights on hydrocarbon resources.

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.

Civilians, historical and religious structures including churches were undamaged in Turkey's anti-terror operation in northern Syria, country's Defense Ministry said on Nov. 4.

Turkey hopes to increase the number of Qatari businesspeople in Turkey, especially in the tourism, food, health and industry sectors, the country's vice president said on Nov. 1.

Iran on Oct. 30 closed the country's western border crossing with Iraq amid mass protests rocking several Iraqi provinces against corruption and unemployment, according to an Iranian official.

Turkey's drillships and seismic research vessels will not leave Cypriot waters unless Nicosia includes Turkish Cypriots in its decision-making concerning hydrocarbon exploration, the country's ambassador to Greece said in an interview with Kathimerini.