Cyprus

Getting East Mediterranean Energy Right

Getting East Mediterranean Energy Right

BY: Nikos Tsafos* PEJOURNAL - This was a tumultuous summer in the Eastern Mediterranean. On August 12, there was a collision between a Greek frigate and a Turkish frigate as the two navies circled the Turkish survey vessel Oruc Reis. Military exercises drew in forces from the United States, Russia, and France. The United States, Germany, and NATO each tried to mediate between Greece and Turkey. The Mediterranean members of the European Union held a summit, leading French president Emmanuel Macron to tweet “Pax Mediterranea” (whatever that means). Russia offered to help lower tensions, and Greece announced a massive weapons…
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Turkey Rejects EU Threat of Sanctions over Eastern Mediterranean

Turkey Rejects EU Threat of Sanctions over Eastern Mediterranean

PEJOURNAL - The European Union could impose sanctions on Turkey if Turkish "provocations and pressures" continue in the East Mediterranean. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday after a meeting of the 27-nation bloc's leaders, "We want a positive and constructive relationship with Turkey, and this would be also be very much in Ankara's interest." "But it will only work if the provocations and pressures stop. We therefore expect that Turkey from now on abstains from unilateral actions. In caser of such renewed actions by Ankara the EU will use all its instruments and options available," she…
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Massive Beirut blast kills more than 70, injures thousands: AP

Massive Beirut blast kills more than 70, injures thousands: AP

PEJOURNAL - A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city’s port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. More than 70 people were killed and 3,000 injured, with bodies buried in the rubble, officials said. It was not clear what caused the blast, which struck with the force of a 3.5 magnitude earthquake, according to Germany’s geosciences center GFZ, and was heard and felt as far away as Cyprus more than 200 kilometers (180 miles) across the Mediterranean. Lebanon’s interior minister said it appeared that a large cache of…
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