Ex-minister Christoulides wins Cyprus presidential election
February 12, 2023 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected as the new president of Cyprus in a runoff election Sunday, pledging to revive stalemated reunification talks with the nation's breakaway Turkish Cypriots and to form a coalition government with women filling half of the Cabinet positions.
Cyprus presidential candidates push leadership credentials
February 3, 2023 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The three front-runners vying for the presidency of ethnically split Cyprus wound down their campaigns Friday, putting pronouncements of their leadership credentials ahead of issues two days before the election.
Cyprus picks new president amid economic doubt, ethnic split
January 31, 2023 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriots are voting Sunday for a new president who they’ll expect to decisively steer the small island nation through shifting geopolitical sands and uncertain economic times that have become people's overriding concern, eclipsing stalemated efforts to remedy the country’s ethnic division.
Cyprus hails US decision to fully lift weapons embargo
September 17, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus on Saturday hailed the full lifting of a U.S. arms embargo on the ethnically divided island nation as a milestone reaffirming increasingly tighter bilateral bonds that serve to bolster stability in the turbulent east Mediterranean region.
Cyprus president: Turkish Cypriot proposals aim at partition
July 20, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Proposals put forward by the leader of Cyprus’ breakaway Turkish Cypriots are a new, “unacceptable” bid for the ethnically divided island's permanent partition, the nation’s Greek Cypriot president said Wednesday.
Cyprus president tests positive for COVID-19, mild symptoms
July 19, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, has tested positive for the coronavirus, a government official said Tuesday.
Government spokesman Marios Pelekanos said Anastasiades tested positive during routine testing.
Earl and Countess of Wessex to underscore UK-Cyprus ties
June 21, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Earl and Countess of Wessex met Tuesday with the president of Cyprus as part of a three-day visit to the former British colony to underscore close bilateral ties and to meet soldiers serving with a U.N.
Greece, Cyprus won’t follow Turkey in tension-raising talk
June 17, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The leaders of Greece and Cyprus sought Friday to tamp down tensions with neighboring Turkey amid increasingly belligerent rhetoric from the Turkish president, insisting that the best way to counter such talk is through “calm and composed determination.”
Cyprus labor minister dies after suffering brain aneurism
June 6, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ Labor and Social Insurance Minister Zeta Emilianidou died in a hospital in the Greek capital after suffering a brain aneurism last month, the government announced late Monday.
Cyprus to UN: Turkey seeks full control of breakaway north
June 6, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus will lodge a complaint with the United Nations over Turkey’s new financial assistance deal with breakaway Turkish Cypriots that demonstrates Ankara’s “complete control” over them, the president of the ethnically divided island nation said Monday.
Cyprus plans surveillance system to stem migrant crossings
April 19, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus will install an electronic surveillance system along the buffer zone that divides the island nation along ethnic lines, to stem a surge in illegal immigration through the breakaway north, the government said Tuesday.
Split Cyprus seeks equal say for women in future peace talks
April 13, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus on Wednesday kicked off an initiative to give women an equal say in any renewed push to reunify the eastern Mediterranean island nation.
US diplomat: Mediterranean gas pipeline to Europe not viable
April 7, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A proposed pipeline to deliver natural gas from deposits in the east Mediterranean to European markets is too expensive, not economically viable and will take too long to help countries seeking alternatives to Russian gas any time soon, a senior U.S.
Cyprus president vows “more humane” migrant camp conditions
March 14, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The president of Cyprus pledged Monday to make conditions at an overcrowded migrant camp “more humane” following criticism that the living arrangements for more than 350 unaccompanied minors there were inadequate.
Israel says outreach to Turkey won’t come at Cyprus’ expense
March 2, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Any bid by Israel to improve strained ties with Turkey won’t come at the expense of its “strategic relationship” with neighboring Cyprus, the Israeli president said Wednesday.
Cyprus president nixes luxury car use for top civil servants
January 24, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' president has scrapped plans to grant free-of-charge, around-the-clock use of state-financed luxury vehicles to top civil servants amid a public outcry over a perceived waste of taxpayers’ money, a government spokesman said Monday.
Cyprus foreign minister quits amid presidential run tussle
January 9, 2022 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ foreign minister announced his resignation on Sunday amid swirling speculation over his intention to run for president of the east Mediterranean island nation next year that he said undermined the work of his ministry and that of the government.
Vatican confirms papal trip to Greece, Cyprus in December
November 5, 2021 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will travel to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus on a five-day trip next month, the Vatican confirmed Friday.
Poland’s president urges EU to stop Belarus migrant ‘push’
October 7, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The European Union should take “specific actions” to stop Belarus “pushing” migrants across its border into Polish territory, Poland's president said on Thursday.
President Andrzej Duda didn’t outline what those actions might be, but said he’s hoping for assistance beyond what the 27-member bloc’s border agency FRONTEX is already providing on the ground.
With lunch invite, UN chief tries to restart Cyprus talks
September 28, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hosted a lunch Monday for the leaders of divided Cyprus, hoping to bring them back to negotiations to reunite the Mediterranean island nation — talks that have been stalled since 2017.
Cyprus says Turkey eyes island’s control with 2-state deal
September 24, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Turkey’s new push for separate Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot states on ethnically divided Cyprus shows a desire to control the whole of the east Mediterranean island nation, the Cypriot Cypriot president charged Friday.
U.S. senator calls two-state deal for divided Cyprus ‘wrong’
August 30, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on Monday that the “retrograde vision” of Turkey’s president to cement Cyprus’ ethnic divide by striving for a two-state deal “is wrong” for all Cypriots.
Seeking Mediterranean allies, Greece hosts Jordan’s king
July 28, 2021 GMTATHENS, Greece (AP) — King Abdullah II of Jordan was meeting Wednesday in Athens with the leaders of Greece and Cyprus as part of regular high-level contacts launched between the three Mediterranean countries in 2018.
Cyprus protests opening of ghost-suburb’s residential area
July 21, 2021 GMTPARALIMNI, Cyprus (AP) — The government of ethnically split Cyprus lodged formal protests with the United Nations and the European Union on Tuesday over a decision by Turkey and breakaway Turkish Cypriots to reopen a residential section of an abandoned, military-controlled suburb.
Cyprus gets new health minister in government mini-reshuffle
June 22, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ president on Tuesday appointed an economics professor as the country’s new health minister, after his predecessor asked to leave the post.
Michael Hadjipantela replaces Constantinos Ioannou, who oversaw the country’s difficult transition from a private-based to a national health system and handled the coronavirus pandemic.
Cypriot minister angrily quits over call with president
June 17, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ justice minister has angrily resigned, citing her boss’ alleged remarks that she “harms” the government’s image because of her earlier, controversial battles with online critics.
Cyprus elects its 1st-ever female parliament speaker
June 10, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Lawmakers in Cyprus on Thursday elected a woman to the country's second most powerful political post for the first time since its founding as an independent republic in 1960.
Cyprus president unveils ‘ambitious’ economic stimulus plan
May 17, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' president on Monday unveiled a 4.4 billion-euro ($5.34 billion) economic stimulus plan, which he described as the “most ambitious ever” in the country’s 61-year history as an independent republic.
UN-led informal Cyprus talks stall, new round planned
April 29, 2021 GMTGENEVA (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots failed to make headway in informal talks on the future of their ethnically divided island, but talks will continue and “I do not give up...
Turkish Cypriots to UN: two-state basis best for Cyprus deal
April 28, 2021 GMTGENEVA (AP) —
Cyprus’ rival leaders remained polar opposites on what is needed for a peace deal on reunifying the ethnically divided island nation as U...
Probe: Cyprus ‘unlawfully’ gave passports in investment deal
April 27, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' government unlawfully issued 3,500 passports to the relatives of wealthy investors under a now-defunct, multibillion euro citizenship-for-investment program, a damning interim report by an independent commission found on Tuesday...
Vassos Lyssarides, respected Cypriot politician dies at 100
April 26, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) —
Vassos Lyssarides, one of Cyprus’ most respected politicians who was active in the ethnically divided island’s politics since its 1960 independence from British colonial rule and was involved in the global socialist movement, died on Monday...
Cyprus president in Athens before Geneva talks
April 21, 2021 GMTATHENS, Greece (AP) — The president of the ethnically divided island nation of Cyprus met with Greece’s prime minister on Wednesday before informal talks to be held in Switzerland next week...
Split Cyprus’ president hails U.N. bid to resume peace talks
February 25, 2021 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Greek Cypriot president of ethnically divided Cyprus said Thursday he’ll attend a United Nations-hosted meeting in April with the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots with “full political will” to get dormant peace talks up and running again...
Turkey slams joint declaration by Cyprus, Greece and Egypt
October 22, 2020 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday slammed a joint statement by Greece, Cyprus and Egypt that condemns Turkish energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean and numerous “provocations” that they maintain are threatening regional peace...
Cyprus, Greece, Egypt to Turkey: drop the rancor, join us
October 21, 2020 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The leaders of Cyprus, Egypt and Greece on Wednesday renewed an invitation to Turkey to become a partner in reaping the potential benefits of offshore gas deposits, while urging Ankara to end its “aggressive” actions in the eastern Mediterranean...
Pompeo urges diplomacy in standoff over Mediterranean gas
September 12, 2020 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday called for a diplomatic solution to the confrontation between Greece and Turkey over energy reserves in east Mediterranean waters, saying ongoing military tensions between two NATO allies only serve the alliance's foes...
Cyprus: Putin ‘to help ease’ gas search tensions with Turkey
July 30, 2020 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to intercede with Turkey's leader to try to ease rising tensions over oil and gas exploration in eastern Mediterranean waters that Cyprus claims as its own, the Cypriot government said Thursday...
Cyprus: EU partners aim to rein in Turkey’s ‘expansionism’
July 7, 2020 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and its European Union partners are working to rein in Turkey’s “expansionist policy” in the eastern Mediterranean amid heightened tensions over an offshore search for hydrocarbons, the island nation's president said Tuesday...
Cyprus: In fighting virus, politicians listened to experts
April 22, 2020 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus has negotiated the coronavirus pandemic with a very low per capita death rate because its government closely followed the advice of medical experts and imposed a strict lockdown early on, the island nation's president said on Wednesday...
France gives backing to Cyprus amid gas search tensions
February 18, 2020 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — France's defense minister said Tuesday that her country stands in solidarity with Cyprus amid tensions over a Turkish search for natural gas inside Cypriot waters...
Saudi foreign minister determined to bolster Cyprus ties
September 11, 2019 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says his country is keen to explore ways of strengthening relations with Cyprus given the European Union member country's geographic location and long-standing ties with the Arab world...
Cyprus ex-President Dimitris Christofias dead at 72
June 21, 2019 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Dimitris Christofias, Cyprus' first communist president whose troubled tenure was marked by near financial ruin that necessitated an international rescue, uproar over a deadly Iranian munitions blast and failure to end the country's ethnic division, died Friday...
Cyprus urges Turkey to cooperate on energy, but peace first
November 2, 2018 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is ready to work with Turkey on exploiting the east Mediterranean's potential oil and gas wealth, as long as the ethnically split island nation is reunified, the country's president said Friday...
Dozens march for peace deal in ethnically divided Cyprus
December 14, 2016 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Some 250 Greek and Turkish Cypriots marched on Wednesday in support of an accord reunifying their ethnically divided island ahead of a summit that will likely decide whether a deal on Cyprus is possible...
French president offers support to key Cyprus peace talks
December 9, 2016 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — France is willing to help rally international support for a summit next month aimed at clinching an agreement to reunify ethnically divided Cyprus, the country's president said Friday...
Cyprus president: No bad peace deal will be put to a vote
December 2, 2016 GMTNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Talks aimed at reunifying Cyprus were back on track Friday after the leaders of the ethnically split island ended a two-week stalemate by agreeing to meet next month to tackle the most difficult issues in the way of a peace deal...