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| US pleased by cancellation of Greece, Turkey war games
WASHINGTON, Oct 10 (AFP) - The United States on Friday said the decision by Greece and Turkey to cancel military exercises and not participate in planned war games with their rival communities on Cyprus should help bring about a settlement to the long-running dispute over the divided island. "This is a good thing," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. BizVantage – When knowing counts: Business, Investing, Technology. "We welcome the announcements by the Turkish, Greek and the Cypriot governments canceling the annual fall military exercises on Cyprus," he told reporters. "We think the decision contributes to building a positive atmosphere for reaching a comprehensive Cyprus settlement and stability in the Aegean region, " Boucher said. On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul announced the decision to cancel the exercises after talks with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou at a meeting of Mediterranean foreign ministers. Under the decision, Turkey and Greece will give up naval exercises codenamed respectively Barbaros and Toksodis, which they carry out annually in the autumn in the eastern Mediterranean. The two countries will also snub naval manueuvers they hold annually with their respective communities on the divided island of Cyprus, codenamed Toros and Nikiforos, respectively. Ankara and Athens gave up the drills in 2001 and 2002 as well. Territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea and the Cyprus conflict have long marred relations between the two countries. The two neighbors have in recent years began to mend fences, but their major disputes remain unresolved. Cyprus has been divided into Turkish and Greek sectors since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the island's north in response to an Athens-engineered coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece. mvl/mdl US-Cyprus-Greece-Turkey
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