LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
The Greek Cypriot administration has suspended talks over the divided island after Turkey sent a warship to monitor oil and gas exploration off the coast of Cyprus.
Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades abandoned the talks with the Turkish Cypriot leadership Tuesday following reports that the Turkish corvette had been sent to monitor Greek Cypriot exploration.
On Monday, the Turkish General Staff warned that it was closely monitoring the drillship SAIPEM-10000 off the southern coast of Cyprus, and Turkey warned the Greek Cypriot administration against unilateral moves to extract natural gas and oil without considering Turkish Cypriot views.
Anastasiades said the decision had been made after consulting with party leaders and the negotiator in the talks, Andreas Mavroyiannis.
Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras supported the decision to suspend the talks.
Dervis Eroglu, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, was expected to meet with Anastasiades to move on to a new phase of negotiations on October 9.
Stalled talks were resuscitated in February with a joint declaration outlining the details of a federal state re-uniting the island.
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