Middle Eastern countries

Saudi Arabia's deputy defence minister, Khalid bin Salman, on May 16 accused Iran of ordering drone attacks on two of its oil pumping stations that were claimed by Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Both the current administration and the next will be called upon to manage Greek-Turkish relations at their most critical phase since the invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

In the latest sign of Turkey's expansionist ambitions in the Eastern Mediterranean, representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in Ankara - including a Greek Embassy official - who were briefed about the country's plans for offshore drilling operations were shown maps that violated the sovereign territory of Greece and Cyprus.

The European Union has expressed its "grave concern" and pledged to "respond appropriately and in full solidarity" with Cyprus in response to Turkey's plans to conduct drilling operations within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

"I have been a stalwart supporter of the deep American bonds with Greece, Cyprus, Israel and others in the region," US Senator Robert Menendez reiterated in the 15th Manuel Chrysoloras keynote speech on security cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean in Athens on Monday.

President Donald Trump vetoed a resolution passed by Congress to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.

A bi-partisan bill - Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 - tabled in the US Senate by Bob Menendez (Dem. - New Jersey) and Mark Rubio (Rep. - Florida) provides for the lifting of the arms embargo on Cyprus, military aid to Greece, and support for the trilateral Greece-Cyprus-Israel energy and defence cooperation.

Greek fighter jets are seen flying over the Rio-Antirio bridge Friday as part of the multinational Iniohos military exercise. Iniohos 2019 started on Monday and is to end on April 12. It involves jets from Greece, the US, Italy, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. [ANA-MPA]

Turkey is very open to new ideas for solving the longstanding Cyprus issue, a senior Turkish diplomat said on April 1.

Long ago, the Mediterranean was known as the Middle Sea because for centuries it provided the principal means of communication between empires and civilizations. Today's Mediterranean is reclaiming much of that historic legacy.