Germany told Cyprus that Turkey will not be sanctioned

German officials told the Cypriot government that it is highly unlikely that Turkey will be sanctioned for aggression against Greece and Cyprus, which includes sending warships into their maritime space, the English-language edition of Kathimerini Cyprus reported.

Nicosia told German officials that it will veto sanctions against Belarus if they are not also tied into sanctions against Turkey.

"The German officials said sanctions have no substantial effect. They are, as they said, a dead-end strategy, which instead of getting Turkey in line, intensifies its challenges and leads it to more extreme positions," wrote Marina Economides on Kathimerini Cyprus.

According to foreign diplomatic sources cited by Kathimerini Cyprus, Germany continues to  defuse the crisis that Turkey launched against Greece and Cyprus, both EU members.

The article highlights that Cyprus is facing increasing pressure from Berlin to accept that the departure of Turkey's Yavuz and Barbaros research vessels from Cypriot maritime space to be a settlement and to then pass sanctions against Belarus.

"This departure will be able to be presented in the interior as a success of the ‘assertive’ position of Cyprus," the report said.

Kathimerini Cyprus highlighted that diplomatic circles noted that "the international community mobilized only when the tension between Greece and Turkey intensified," while Turkey's violations of the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) "went largely under the radar throughout this period."

"Diplomatic circles already believe that faits accomplis will be created in Famagusta before the ‘elections’ in the occupied territories. And this should be met with a strong reaction from the international community and especially from the EU, as this will determine, as Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said in an interview with 'K', the framework for a solution to the Cyprus problem," the report said.

Berlin believes that Cyprus should drop the issue of sanctions against Turkey and "should now focus on the resumption of Cyprus Problem negotiations immediately after the ‘elections’ in the occupied territories, as announced by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and should limit itself to the inclusion of some names in the sanctions list. The sanctions are expected to boost Turkish provocations, which could spill over into the negotiating table."