Cyprus–Greece relations

The third Greek-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council ended on Saturday with a joint statement pledging goodwill and the intention for closer bilateral cooperation in trade, tourism and energy, as well as in curbing illegal immigration.

Turkish PM Davutoğlu has called for a closer cooperation with Greece during his visit to Athens as part of the third High Level Strategic Council between both countries, while playing down differences, particularly on the Cyprus issue

Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu has thrown his hat into the ring by announcing that he will run as an independent candidate in the country's presidential election to be held in April 2015.

Eroğlu, who was previously elected as the Turkish Cypriot leader in 2010, became the first to announce his candidacy via a statement on Nov. 28.

Turkish government officials on Tuesday defended Ankara’s continuing violation of Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ ) and proposed the foundation of a private company to undertake oil and gas drilling activities in the eastern Aegean until a solution is found to the Cyprus problem.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has proposed a yet-to-be-founded private company continues oil and gas drilling activities in the Mediterranean until a resolution can be found for the decades-long Cyprus issue.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç urged Greek Cypriot authorities to "turn back from the wrong way" and return to the negotiation table, as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus celebrated its 31st anniversary on Nov. 15.

Greece may resort to legal action against Turkey for allegedly violating the international sea law, Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos said on Nov. 12.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Friday called on Ankara to review its stance in the eastern Mediterranean and offer "clear signs" that it supports the resumption of stalled peace talks on Cyprus.

Deputy Greek Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos will pay a visit to Turkey in late November amid Cyprus talks that have stalled over a dispute over the island’s natural resources.

It was Turkey’s Piri Reis seismic ship that was, until recent times, reasserting the country’s partnership with Turkish Cyprus over sovereignty and natural resources on and off Cyprus. For decades, the foundation of Ankara’s Cyprus policy has been tit for tat, sometimes proactive but most of the time reactive.