New Cypriot foreign minister in Athens for talks

Cyprus’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides (l) met for talks in Athens on Monday with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias and is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. His visit comes amid renewed tensions with Turkey, which last month prevented a rig from drilling for gas in the island’s exclusive economic zone. Yigit Bulut, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned of a "strike" if any attempt to explore or drill for hydrocarbons goes ahead without Ankara’s approval. [Alexandros Vlachos/ANA-MPA]