Nicos

Former president Nicos Anastasiades, who has denied accusations that he unlawfully interfered in a soccer match-fixing probe, engaged in a back-and-forth with his accuser after he dropped the bombshell firsthand account allegations during a public podcast.

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.

Cypriots vote on Sunday in a presidential election which has split the political right and is unlikely to produce a clear winner, setting the stage for a runoff on February 12.

Among a record 14 candidates, the race for the top job comes down to three hopefuls who were close aides of incumbent right-wing President Nicos Anastasiades, but are now bitter rivals.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades shovels soil at the opening ceremony of the memorial park in the East Attica town of Mati in memory of the victims of the devastating wildfire in 2018. The work for the park's creation is being carried out thanks to a donation from Cyprus.

Outgoing Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades expressed his gratitude on Wednesday to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the government's diplomatic support in curbing Turkish revisionism in the region.

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 is ready to enhance further its "excellent cooperation" with China, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said last week while sending his greetings to China for the Lunar New Year.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres intends to meet next month with ethnically split Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to gauge whether conditions are ripe to resume dormant peace talks, the Cypriot government spokesman said on Monday.

By its continuing actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey is "threatening peace, security and stability" in the region, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Friday.

UN special envoy Jane Holl Lute met separately on Tuesday with the two Cypriot leaders, who said they were open to a possible five-party informal meeting but expressed diametrically opposite views on solving the Cyprus issue.