A Turkish coastguard vessel on Friday fired warning shots at a Cyprus police boat. The boat was on patrol for undocumented migrants, said Cypriot media.

The incident came amid high tensions on the island as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepares to visit the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north next week to mark the anniversary of Turkey's 1974 invasion.

The Cypriot vessel spotted the Turkish coastguard some 11 nautical miles from the small fishing port of Kato Pyrgos, just west of the UN-patrolled armistice line separating government-held territory from the breakaway north, the Cyprus News Agency reported.

Christos Andreou, spokesman for Cyprus police told CNA that coastguard cutter was inside Cyprus' territorial waters. The incident took place at 0030 GMT, he said.

He further said that the boat was on regular patrol to check irregular migrants. The area is a dropping-off point for migrants coming from Turkey.

"The patrol boat’s three-member crew seeing the intentions of the Turkish coastguard tried to avoid any incident and headed toward the fishing shelter at Kato Pyrgos," he said.

"At a distance of four nautical miles from the shelter, the marine police boat received warning shots from the Turkish coastguard.

"Then, being a short distance from the shores, the Turkish coastguard left for the occupied territories" (of northern Cyprus), he said.

Tensions are high ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the island next week. Greek Cypriots see this tour as provocative one. Erdogan will visit abandoned beach resort of Varosha, which was emptied of its Greek Cypriot residents by the Turkish invasion.

Cyprus police have stepped up both land and sea patrols since the government declared a "state of emergency" in May following an influx of Syrian migrants that has flooded its reception centres.

(With inouts from agencies)

A Turkish coastguard vessel on Friday fired warning shots at a Cyprus police boat. The boat was on patrol for undocumented migrants, said Cypriot media. The incident came amid high tensions on the island as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepares to visit the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north next week to mark the anniversary of Turkey's 1974 invasion.

A Turkish coastguard vessel on Friday fired warning shots at a Cyprus police boat. The boat was on patrol for undocumented migrants, said Cypriot media. The incident came amid high tensions on the island as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prepares to visit the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north next week to mark the anniversary of Turkey's 1974 invasion. The Cypriot vessel spotted the Turkish coastguard some 11 nautical miles from the small fishing port of Kato Pyrgos, just west of the UN-patrolled armistice line separating government-held territory from the breakaway north, the Cyprus News Agency reported. Christos Andreou, spokesman for Cyprus police told CNA that coastguard cutter was inside Cyprus' territorial waters. The incident took place at 0030 GMT, he said. He further said that the boat was on regular patrol to check irregular migrants. The area is a dropping-off point for migrants coming from Turkey. "The patrol boat’s three-member crew seeing the intentions of the Turkish coastguard tried to avoid any incident and headed toward the fishing shelter at Kato Pyrgos," he said. "At a distance of four nautical miles from the shelter, the marine police boat received warning shots from the Turkish coastguard. "Then, being a short distance from the shores, the Turkish coastguard left for the occupied territories" (of northern Cyprus), he said. Tensions are high ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the island next week. Greek Cypriots see this tour as provocative one. Erdogan will visit abandoned beach resort of Varosha, which was emptied of its Greek Cypriot residents by the Turkish invasion. Cyprus police have stepped up both land and sea patrols since the government declared a "state of emergency" in May following an influx of Syrian migrants that has flooded its reception centres. (With inouts from agencies)

Turkish coastguard fires warning shot at Cyprus police ship

Turkey said it will hold a military exercise off northwest Cyprus for the next two weeks

Turkey Begins Military Drill Near Cyprus

Cypriot leaders are close to reaching a deal on unifying the island but key issues remain unsolved, including implementing and guaranteeing a final pact, the new UN chief said Thursday.&nbsp;

&quot;We are coming very close to what is the settlement,&quot; Antonio Guterres told reporters in Geneva after opening a first-of-its-kind conference on ending four decades of stalemate in the eastern Mediterranean island.&nbsp;

The UN-backed peace process is aimed at creating a unified state, with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones.

Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have during bilateral talks tackled tough domestic issues like land swaps and the make up of a prospective future government.&nbsp;

While Guterres said major progress had been made on resolving those questions, there were obstacles ahead on how to &quot;implement&quot; a deal and developing &quot;instruments&quot; to preserve it.&nbsp;

&quot;You cannot expect miracles of immediate solutions, we are not looking for a quick fix,&quot; he said on his first foreign trip since taking over the UN&#39;s top job on January 1. &nbsp;

&quot;We are looking for a solid sustainable solution for the Republic of&nbsp;Cyprus,&quot; he added.

Thursday&#39;s conference included top diplomats from&nbsp;Cyprus&#39;&nbsp;so-called guarantor powers: Greece, Turkey, and former colonial ruler Britain.&nbsp;

Under a 1959 agreement, those nations have the right to intervene to protect&nbsp;Cyprus&#39;s sovereign integrity.&nbsp;

Ankara used that pact to justify its 1974 invasion that divided the island, which came in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.&nbsp;

Britain and Greece have said they are willing to do away with the guarantor power arrangement, but Turkey on Thursday made clear that it expects some form of the deal to be preserved.&nbsp;

The goal, Guterres said, was to find a new system that &quot;guarantees the security concerns&quot; of both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

&quot;We are at a starting point&quot; on the question of security, he said.

&quot;My hope is there will be a breakthrough&quot;, he continued, adding that&nbsp;Cyprus&nbsp;can be &quot;a symbol of hope.&quot;

(AFP)

The island country is currently split between Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot communities following the 1974 skirmish

Cypriot leaders are close to reaching a deal on unifying the island but key issues remain unsolved, including implementing and guaranteeing a final pact, the new UN chief said Thursday. "We are coming very close to what is the settlement," Antonio Guterres told reporters in Geneva after opening a first-of-its-kind conference on ending four decades of stalemate in the eastern Mediterranean island. The UN-backed peace process is aimed at creating a unified state, with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones. Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have during bilateral talks tackled tough domestic issues like land swaps and the make up of a prospective future government. While Guterres said major progress had been made on resolving those questions, there were obstacles ahead on how to "implement" a deal and developing "instruments" to preserve it. "You cannot expect miracles of immediate solutions, we are not looking for a quick fix," he said on his first foreign trip since taking over the UN's top job on January 1. "We are looking for a solid sustainable solution for the Republic of Cyprus," he added. Thursday's conference included top diplomats from Cyprus' so-called guarantor powers: Greece, Turkey, and former colonial ruler Britain. Under a 1959 agreement, those nations have the right to intervene to protect Cyprus's sovereign integrity. Ankara used that pact to justify its 1974 invasion that divided the island, which came in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece. Britain and Greece have said they are willing to do away with the guarantor power arrangement, but Turkey on Thursday made clear that it expects some form of the deal to be preserved. The goal, Guterres said, was to find a new system that "guarantees the security concerns" of both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. "We are at a starting point" on the question of security, he said. "My hope is there will be a breakthrough", he continued, adding that Cyprus can be "a symbol of hope." (AFP)

Cyprus unification deal 'very close' but UN warns of no 'quick fix'

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Turkish coastguard fires warning shot at Cyprus police ship

Turkey Begins Military Drill Near Cyprus

Cyprus unification deal 'very close' but UN warns of no 'quick fix'