Middle Eastern countries

Cyprus reopened its airports on Tuesday after almost three months of lockdown, hoping its record in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and a pledge of free medical treatment for any Covid-19 cases will lure tourists back to its beaches.

Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on June 7 condemned the hanging of a Byzantine flag over a mosque in Greek Cyprus.

The premier of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) announced on June 6 that work on the reopening of Varosha (Maraş) will gain momentum after the coronavirus pandemic is finished.

Prime Minister Ersin Tatar said in a statement there is a pause on the reopening of the abandoned town in the northern part of the divided island of Cyprus because of the deadly outbreak.

Turkey wants to solve all problems in the Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus in accordance with international law, said the country's defense minister.

Hulusi Akar, flanked by Chief of General Staff Yaşar Güler and top military commanders, arrived at Turkey's border with Syria for a meeting on June 6. 

Turkey will resume flights to Bulgaria as of June 10, the Turkish Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoglu has announced. According to him, flights to 40 countries will gradually be resumed in June, the correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio in Turkey, Marian Karagyozov, reports.

The Turkey-Libya memorandum of understanding (MoU) relating to maritime zones "cannot as a legal matter affect the rights or obligations of third states" such as Greece, a US energy official said on Tuesday during  a virtual roundtable discussion on the Eastern Mediterranean and the trilateral partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci says that no progress can be made in reunification talks with the Republic of Cyprus if Turkish Cypriots in the breakaway north do not renew his mandate.

Turkey on June 1 condemned an attempt to burn down a mosque in Greek Cyprus.

"We condemn the heinous attack on Köprülü Hacı İbrahim Ağa Mosque in Greek Cyprus, Limassol province," said Turkey's Foreign Ministry in a statement.

The bodies of 18 Turkish Cypriots who are due to be sent back to their homeland are still being held in a London mosque weeks after their deaths.
Turkish Cypriots in the United Kingdom, one of the communities most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, are holding the bodies in a Hackney mosque in east London to fulfill the will of their relatives who lost their lives.

Cyprus hopes to regain lost ground in its tourism sector from July and expects to be able to re-admit British and Russian visitors by then after weeks of lockdown.

The Mediterranean island moved swiftly to contain the outbreak, ordering a broad lockdown within days of its first registered case on March 9. It started easing it on May 4 and hotels will reopen on June 1.