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Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar warned on Friday that “one tiny mistake” could turn Cyprus into “a new Gaza”. Tatar, not recognized as a head of state by the international community, also suggested that Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan may soon recognize the north. Turkey is the only country that recognizes the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. in an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, said, “A mistake or a misunderstanding such as the shooting of a Turkish soldier on the Green Line… would provoke a bomb between the two populations.” “If you shoot one Turkish soldier, you...

The buckets of cold water Turkey is pouring on Finland and Sweden’s bids to join NATO may be coming from the sea around the shore of Cyprus, the divided Mediterranean island that is a bargaining chip for the Turkish president, Tayyip Erdogan. There is mounting evidence that Turkey could be using its status as a member of NATO to wield its veto power over the anticipated accession to the alliance of the two Nordic countries as a lever to force the international community to confer legitimacy on its de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. London’s Sunday Express recently reported...

MUSLIM WOMAN tries to set airline seat on fire, threatens to blow up the plane DECEMBER 18, 2019 BY BARENAKEDISLAM The reason? This Turkish Muslim passenger was forced her to extinguish her cigarette. She’s the one in the full-face covering body bag in blue. The SUN A Pegasus Airlines flight from Istanbul to Tymbou, Northern Cyprus airport was canceled after a Muslim woman threatened to blow up the aircraft this morning, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported. According to Hurriyet, the woman argued with other passengers and kept lighting cigarettes in the plane before security forces arrived. She held up a picture...

Orthodox Christianity and Islam are based on the same fundamental values, President Vladimir Putin said in an address to a religious conference in Kyrgyzstan. The conference, titled "Orthodoxy and Islam — Religions of Peace," aimed to promote interethnic and interreligious dialogue between Russia and Kyrgyzstan. "Islam and Orthodox Christianity, just like other world religions, are based on fundamental humanistic values that are of enduring importance — on mercy and love for one’s near, justice and respect for human beings," the state-run TASS news agency quoted Putin as saying Thursday. The address, which was read out to the conference by Russian...

As Europe seeks to diversify its sources of natural gas as an alternative to the politically sensitive Russian supply, a massive off-shore gas source in the Mediterranean is ready for exploration and drilling. There are game-changing stakes at play. Unfortunately, the Turkish leadership has threatened to use force to stop this from happening. Last October, Turkey sent the BARBAROS, its geophysics exploration ship, accompanied by naval vessels, into the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone waters. In November 2014, Turkish naval commander Admiral Bülent Bostanoğlu threatened the use of force against Greece, while speaking on board a Turkish naval corvette in Greek...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said economic isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) should be ended. Putin has signaled for concrete steps to be taken in this regard. Russian President hosting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an "honorary guest" in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi noted, the "meaningless" embargo imposed on TRNC must be lifted and his country will have direct contacts with both the Turkish and Greek Cypriot societies on the island. The two leaders emphasized their opinions overlapped on many issues. "The first thing we must do is to solve the problem...

The European Parliament's chief criticised Turkey Monday for threatening to freeze ties with the EU when the bloc's rotating presidency shifts to Cyprus, which Ankara does not recognise as a sovereign state. "I criticise this. This is not possible," said Martin Schulz, the European Parliament's president, who is in Ankara for an official visit. "I take note that a candidate state says to us we will not negotiate during the presidency of a member state of the European Union," he said. Cyprus takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU on July 1, and Turkey has threatened to freeze...

Turkey's high-flying economy, which expanded at a 10 percent annual rate of gross domestic product growth during the first half of 2011,[1] will crash-land in 2012. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan's "economic miracle," to use the Daily Telegraph's admiring words,[2] depended on a 40 percent annual rate of bank credit expansion, which in turn produced a balance of payments deficit as wide as that of southern Europe's crisis countries. Markets have already anticipated a sudden turnaround in the Turkish economy. The Turkish lira (TRY) fell by a quarter between November 2010 and September 2011, making it the world's worst performing...

Turkey and Turkish Cyprus signed a deal on Wednesday in New York to establish a ground for offshore gas exploration in a move set to escalate the already high regional tensions over Mediterranean energy reserves and border issues. On Tuesday, the Greek Cypriot administration confirmed that drilling had begun in a southeastern offshore block, adjoining a gas field in Israeli waters reputed to be the world's largest gas reserves find of the past decade. With the latest agreement the ethnic Turkish northern half of Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, marked its marine borders with Turkey and will issue licenses...

*** The monument will be higher than the Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the Statue of Liberty in USA and the Buddha Statue in ChinaMoscow, September 12, Interfax - 135-meter monument representing an angel with a dove will appear in southern shore of Cyprus near "fruit" capital of the island - town of Limassol. The idea of the project Good Angels of Peace symbolizing peace and charity has appeared in Russia five years ago. The monument will be higher than the Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the Statue of Liberty in the USA and Statue of...

Russia has sent two nuclear-powered submarines to patrol Eastern Mediterranean waters around Cyprus and enforce the island's right to explore for undersea oil and gas in its territorial seas, according to information from Defencenet.gr, citing a Russian FM spokesman.

As regional powers attempt to rise, other regional powers will react. This is particularly true in this era of globalization. Turkey is now riding a learning curve. Here is how the latest is unfolding. Turkey warned Thursday it will declare a border on the continental shelf if the island of Cyprus proceeds with offshore oil and gas drilling activities. The Foreign Ministry's announcement came a day after Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias announced that U.S. firm Noble Energy will soon begin exploratory drilling to confirm deposits beneath the sea bed off Cyprus' southern coast despite Turkey's attempts to prevent such a...

Following are excerpts from an interview with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, which aired on the Al-Jazeera network on September 11, 2011. Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan: The measures we have taken are only the beginning. As you know, we have taken five measures, and we will see the results of these measures in the days, weeks, and perhaps months to come. Israel must realize that it is accountable for its actions, past and present. It will realize this. We have seen that Israel has never observed any of the resolutions issued by the UN General Assembly or Security Council. Israel...

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad overshadowed his legitimacy. In a televised interview with the Al-Jazeera, Prime Minister Erdogan said, "when we came to the political power nine years ago, there was a 30-year resentment between Turkey and Syria. We made great efforts to improve relations with Syria with which we share 910 kilometres of border. We always proposed al-Assad to release political prisoners, make constitutional amendments and start multiparty system. Unfortunately, none of these reforms were made. I paid a visit to Aleppo earlier this year. I told al-Assad that we were...

Throughout the 1990s, Turkish foreign policy analysts had an easy job. After all, Turkish foreign policy was predictable. Ankara cooperated enthusiastically with Washington, whether in the Middle East or in the Balkans. Turkey aligned itself with Israel and kept at arms length from Middle Eastern neighbors such as Syria and Iran. In Europe, Ankara traded heavily with the European Union (EU) but did not allow the EU to dictate foreign policy. The European Union's frequent allegations and criticism of human rights abuses in Turkey, especially with regard to Turkey's fight against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK, Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan) terrorists, soured...

Attempted Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in Cyprus	 By Michael Stephen, former British Parliamentarian (1992-97) The assertion by Mr. Christides (May 10, 1999) that there was no ethnic cleansing or attempted genocide of Turkish Cypriots by Greek Cypriots is ridiculous. Until influential Greek Cypriots come to terms with the appalling behavior of their community toward the smaller Turkish Cypriot community and stop trying to persuade themselves and the world that each side was as much to blame as the other, there will be no reconciliation in Cyprus. What did George Ball and Sir Alec Douglas say about the intentions of ...

NICOSIA, Cyprus - A bomb exploded before dawn in a Greek Orthodox church in Turkish-occupied north Cyprus on Friday, causing damage but no injuries, authorities said. The attack followed media reports that Turkish Cypriot extremist groups had vowed to try to prevent services planned next week at the Saint Mamas church to celebrate its namesake's saint's day. Mehmet Ali Talat, the premier of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state, said authorities would press forward with the first service at the church in decades, planned as a gesture of reconciliation between ethnic Turks and Greeks. Hundreds of Greek Cypriots who fled Morphou,...

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Voicing exasperation at Greek Cypriots for rejecting a U.N. plan to reunite their island, the European Union is looking for ways to reward the minority Turkish Cypriots for backing the plan. EU foreign ministers vented their frustration at Saturday's split referendum result as they arrived in Luxembourg on Monday for their last meeting before the bloc enlarges to admit 10 new members -- including a still divided Cyprus -- next Saturday. "We're all profoundly disappointed that this historic opportunity has been lost," EU External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten told reporters. "I don't think the leadership of the...