Moscow hopes for a productive dialogue with Cyprus and to reach an acceptable solution on amendments to a bilateral agreement sought by Russia to avoid double taxation following the decision to impose a 15 percent tax on dividends transferred to foreign bank accounts, Yuri Pilipson, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Fourth European Department, told Sputnik in an interview

Turkey's Fatih drilling ship has begun exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons in the Black Sea, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Monday

Turkey insists on a fair distribution of Cyprus' natural resources between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Tuesday in response to EU criticism of Ankara's drilling operations in the Eastern Mediterranean