Turkey will not call Barbaros back

The Barbaros research vessel first entered the Cypriot EEZ over a month ago accompanied by Turkish warships. It has been conducting seismic surveys in areas which Cyprus has already licensed to an international consortium for exploration and exploitation. The move by Turkey put talks over the reunification of Cyprus on ice and have heightened diplomatic tensions in the area.  Turkish military forces in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean have also been behaving bullishly, even going so far as to target a helicopter carrying the Greek Defence Minister.  

However, the Turkish Foreign Minister stated that he was 'optimistic' that over the coming two days of negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Prime Ministers in Athens that progress would be made towards a mutually acceptable solution.

“We worked hard to prepare this important meeting in Athens. It will be substantive but also a very symbolic meeting for us,” he told Kathimerini. “We will discuss many issues. Bilateral issues, regional issues, as well as the Cyprus issue.”

However in another interview with the newspaper Posta he also stated that 'other' solutions would be sought if the Cyprus issue was not resolved through the talks. He stated that this was the last opportunity for the reunification of the island.

“We need to solve this problem soon,” he said. “This is the last window of opportunity and we should not miss it." He added that the US was also pressing for a solution to be found.