Cyprus welcomes American support over Turkish drilling

Cypriot government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou has welcomed calls by the US State Department late Monday for Turkey's Yavuz drillship to cease its activities off Cyprus' northeastern coast and its removal from the island's territorial waters.

Prodromou told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the comments by a US State Department spokesperson backed Cyprus' position on the issue and expressed hope that Washington's message will be heeded in Ankara.

The State Department spokesperson had told the CNA that "only the Republic of Cyprus, acting through its government, can consent to activities such as drilling within its territorial sea."

"The US is concerned about the activities of the drillship Yavuz, which is operating within the territorial sea of the Republic of Cyprus," the spokesperson added.

Prodromou said that the position expressed by the American...