Middle Eastern countries

Turkey is the best route for sending offshore natural gas from Cyprus to Europe, EU Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on July 1.

Çavuşoğlu’s comments came amid growing expectations that the reserves from the Aphrodite gas field off the southern coast of Cyprus – estimated to be about 200 billion cubic meters – could prove a catalyst for peace and cooperation in the region.

An official document submitted by Turkey to the European Union has referred to the Republic of Cyprus as a “defunct” state, according to reports in Cypriot media.

Bank of Cyprus Pcl, the Mediterranean nation’s biggest lender, is weighing a capital increase of as much as 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion), said three people familiar with the matter.

Turkey has fulfilled all of the benchmarks with the reforms and is ready to open Chapter 23 (Judiciary and fundamental rights), Minister for EU Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

“If political blockage is removed, then we are ready to open Chapter 23,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters on June 24 during his meeting with British Ambassador Richard Moore.

Cyprus returned to international debt markets on Wednesday, just a little over a year after being forced to accept a 10-billion-euro bailout, with a five-year bond issue.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Twitter: “It’s done. Cyprus back to the markets.”

The bond, he said, was for 750 million euros at an interest rate of 4.75 percent.

An Islamic charity organization based in an Istanbul suburb is using an insignia adopted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), daily HaberTürk has reported.

The report comes amid claims that some Turkish associations were recruiting militants for the jihadist group who have recently launched a wide-scale offensive in Iraq.

There cannot be anyone in northern Cyprus who does not demand a settlement. Settlement ideas might differ, but the status quo cannot be acceptable to anyone. Yet, there are some confused minds who see surrender to Greek Cypriots or becoming a part of Turkey as some sort of a resolution.

With President Dr. Derviş Eroğlu repeatedly denying that talks with the Greek Cypriot side were in a deadlock and even Greek Cypriot opinion makers accusing Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades of becoming a “conservative Christofias” interested only in stalling tactics, a paper stressed the peace dividend would radically change communal and individual prospects.

The Chambers of Commerce from Turkey, Greece and Turkish and Greek Cyprus announced the creation of the joint commerce forum, namely the “Nicosia Economic Forum,” last Monday in Cyprus. This was their first meeting since 1974.

Shall we sneak a look at the Cyprus negotiating table?