On Tuesday, 18 August, Cyprus and Greece agreed in the course of negotiations on specific decisions to be taken at the upcoming informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Berlin.

Yesterday in Nicosia, the negotiations between the Foreign Ministers of Cyprus and Greece took place. Cypriot Minister Nikos Christodoulides met with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias to discuss Turkey’s illegal activities in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and on the Greek continental shelf.

After, in an official statement Christodoulides said: “we believe that developments in the region will significantly affect the future of EU-Turkey relations”.

The Cypriot Foreign Minister stressed that there can be no deadlock in diplomacy and that determination, patience and perseverance are necessary to achieve the set goals. Christodoulides is confident that the dialogue will be productive and confirmed that Cyprus is ready to negotiate with the neighbouring states for the delimitation of maritime borders on the basis of international law and the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea.

For his part, the Greek Foreign Minister added that the escalation of the conflict by Turkey is directed against the EU, so the European response to this situation should be the culmination.