turkey

'If there is peace in Cyprus today, it is due to the presence of the Turkish armed forces. Otherwise, the bloodshed would have continued,' Tatar said, reiterating Ankara’s pretext for the 1974 invasion,

First of all, the permanent, age-old civil war in Afghanistan has not ended. Tribal leaders, generals, and warlords of the old regime are negotiating among themselves and with the Taliban – which itself is not a unified force – and no one can prejudge the results.

The talks were held one week after Erdogan’s declaration in occupied Cyprus that he will open about three percent of the Turkish-occupied ghost city of Varosha in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

EU summits over the last year have consistently postponed imposing sanctions against Turkey over its violations of international law in Cyprus’ EEZ, the Aegean, and the Eastern Mediterranean, ostensibly in an effort normalise Greek-Turkish relations.

Hellenism must pursue the broadest possible international mobilisation. It must seek greater EU involvement. It must utilise to the greatest possible extent US pressure on Turkey, and of course it must come up with new positions and proposals.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strategic decision to visit occupied Cyprus on the anniversary and re-open part of the ghost city of Varosha constitutes a sharp escalation and provocation on Ankara’s part.

We must rise to the occasion and undertake persuasive initiatives. Essentially, we must choose between a solution that establishes a federation and the permanent partition of Cyprus.

It is obliged to point out omissions and delays in implementation and to stress the need to expedite the work of the committee on changes to school books – not to hide behind artful ruses.

To grab the opportunity Athens must bolster its economic, diplomatic, and defence forces in this extraordinary post-pandemic world. We are lacking in the economy, but we have an opportunity on the diplomatic chessboard.

"Over the decades Armenian immigrants have enriched the United States in countless ways, but they have never forgotten the tragic history ... We honor their story. We see that pain. We affirm the history.' Biden said.

We must work to create a world in which no human being is forced to leave his or her home. Until then we must remember that seeking asylum is not a lawless act. It is a right.

'This agreement is based on the consistent adherence by both countries to international law and the principle of resolving differences peacefully,' said Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.

'The Trump administration must press Turkey to refrain from any further provocative actions in the region against Greece, including threats of force, to create the space for diplomacy to succeed,” Biden said.

'It is my firm hope that the underlying disputes between two allies can now be addressed purely though negotiations in the spirit of allied solidarity and international law,” Nato's chief said.

A Commission, spokesman said that, 'The departure constitutes another welcome step towards de-escalation ... and we hope for similar and further moves in this direction.'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed harsher language against Turkey, presumably in order to facilitate Germany's role as mediator between Turkey and Greece.

In a break with US diplomatic custom that if a Secretary of State visits Greece he or she will also visit Turkey and vice versa, Pompeo decided to visit only Greece, a move viewed as a stern message to Ankara,

European Commission apresident Von der Leyen said that on both the Greek-Turkish and migration issues Greece and Cyprus can count on the EU’s absolute solidarity.

'We have the issue of security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean which is not the affair of Greece and Cyprus alone but an EU issue,' Michel said

Only France is stepping forward to staunchly and with clear judgment support Greece’s just positions. Other EU countries, however, are not doing their part as their interests have led them to adopt a neutral stance.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has repeatedly declared that dialogue is inconceivable before Turkey withdraws its forces from the area. He clearly ruled out the concept of diplomacy at gunpoint.

In addition MED7 leaders urged Greece and Turkey to dialogue. The seven leaders led by Emmanuel Macron are not prepared to accept Turkish hegemony in the Mediterranean.

In any event the intensity and frequency of Turkish Aegean and Southeastern Mediterranean violations are annoying more and more international players.

Greece and governments all over the world hope that the vaccine will help manage the public health crisis and permit a gradual normalisation of social and economic life.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters the Western alliance was considering so-called deconfliction measures to prevent naval accidents in an increasingly congested region, although he did not go into details.