Section: Cyprus
Greek foreign minister repeats criticism of EU over Ukraine
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias stoked a brewing row with European partners over sanctions against Russia on Thursday, saying Athens would not be pushed into agreement because of its impending debt negotiations. Just days after taking office, the leftwing government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been embroiled in a dispute with...
EU’s Schulz warns Tsipras against straying from stance against Russia
European Parliament President Martin Schulz warned leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday against diverging from the European Union’s stance towards Russia in the Ukraine crisis. Tsipras, who won election on Sunday, unsettled European partners on Wednesday by criticising an EU statement that warned Moscow it faced new...
EU to extend sanctions on Russia to end-2015
The European Union will extend asset freezes and travel bans imposed on dozens of Russians and Ukrainians after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea to the end of this year, according to a draft statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday. A draft statement, prepared for an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers on Thursday and seen by Reuters,...
Litvinenko post-mortem was world’s most dangerous ever, UK inquiry hears
Pathologists examining the body of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope London in 2006, carried out the world’s most dangerous-ever post-mortem, an inquiry into his killing heard on Wednesday. They also said they would probably never have discovered the way he had been killed had unusual tests not been...
Last survivors recall Auschwitz, ask if lessons learned
By Wiktor Szary and Wojciech Zurawski Around 300 survivors of the Auschwitz death camp were gathering on Tuesday to mark 70 years since its liberation by Soviet troops, joined by world leaders for a commemoration held in the shadow of war in Ukraine and a rise in anti-Semitism in Europe. Tuesday’s gathering in southern Poland marks perhaps...
Nine Ukrainian soldiers killed in ‘tense’ eastern conflict
By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets Nine Ukrainian servicemen have been killed in fighting Russian-backed separatists in the past 24 hours, the Kiev military said on Tuesday, as rebels fought to encircle a key town straddling transport routes between their two strongholds. Violence in eastern Ukraine is at by far its worst since a ceasefire was...
Seven Ukrainian soldiers killed in intensified rebel attacks
Seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in intensified clashes with pro-Russian rebels in the eastern conflict zone in the past 24 hours, the Kiev military said on Monday, reporting fierce fighting at the strategic small town of Debaltseve. Violence in eastern Ukraine is at its worst level since a ceasefire was agreed last September and...
Russia blames Ukraine for violence, urges West not to support Kiev
Russia blamed the Ukrainian authorities on Monday for a surge in violence in southeastern Ukraine and urged the West not to show its support for Kiev with actions such as imposing new sanctions on Moscow. “We see attempts to derail the peace process and attempts again and again by the Kiev leadership to solve the problem by using force to...
Pro-Russian rebels attack key port, Ukraine says at least 30 dead
By Alessandra Prentice and Pavel Polityuk Pro-Russian rebels launched an offensive against the strategic port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, prompting the European Union’s foreign policy chief to warn of a further “grave deterioration” in EU-Russian relations. Mariupol’s city administration said the rebels had killed at...
Stylianides to visit Ukraine as EU steps up humanitarian aid
The European Union is preparing to step up its humanitarian aid to the people affected by the conflict in Ukraine, especially the displaced and those who need help to weather the severe cold which has gripped the country. Cypriot EU Commissioner Christos Stylianides, responsible for humanitarian aid and crisis management, will be in Ukraine on...
