عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Cyprus Cancels Meet with Lavrov after EU Says Will Step Up Sanctions

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
TT
TT

Cyprus Cancels Meet with Lavrov after EU Says Will Step Up Sanctions

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai in Moscow on September 6, 2022. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades cancelled a meeting scheduled with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York after EU foreign ministers agreed to prepare new sanctions against Russia, a government official said on Thursday.

The two had been expected to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly late on Wednesday, Reuters said.

"In anticipation of the decisions of the EU the guidelines from Brussels to avoid bilateral meetings with Russia were followed," Cyprus government spokesman Marios Pelekanos told state radio.

Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides had earlier participated in a meeting of the EU's foreign ministers in NewYork.

EU member Cyprus has close political and economic ties with Russia, but has followed Brussels lead in imposing sanctions on the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

France Adds First Nuclear Reactor in 25 Years to Grid

A general view of the three reactors making up the Flamanville nuclear power plant with the third-generation European Pressurised Water nuclear reactor (EPR) in the background in Flamanville, France, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
A general view of the three reactors making up the Flamanville nuclear power plant with the third-generation European Pressurised Water nuclear reactor (EPR) in the background in Flamanville, France, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
TT
TT

France Adds First Nuclear Reactor in 25 Years to Grid

A general view of the three reactors making up the Flamanville nuclear power plant with the third-generation European Pressurised Water nuclear reactor (EPR) in the background in Flamanville, France, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
A general view of the three reactors making up the Flamanville nuclear power plant with the third-generation European Pressurised Water nuclear reactor (EPR) in the background in Flamanville, France, April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo

France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country's nuclear power network in 25 years.

The reactor, which began operating in September ahead of the grid connection, is going online 12 years later than originally planned and at a cost of around 13 billion euros - four times the original budget.

"EDF teams have achieved the first connection of the Flamanville EPR to the national grid at 11:48am (1048 GMT). The reactor is now generating electricity," EDF said in a statement, Reuters reported.

The Flamanville 3 European Pressurised Reactor is France's largest at 1.6 gigawatts (GW) and one of the world's biggest, along with China's 1.75 GW Taishan reactor, which is based on a similar design, and Finland's Olkiluoto.

It is the first to be connected to the grid since Civaux 2 in 1999 but is being brought into service at a time of sluggish consumption, with France exporting a record amount of electricity this year.

EDF is planning to build another six new reactors to fulfil a 2022 pledge made by President Emmanuel Macron as part of the country's energy transition plans, although questions remain around the funding and timeline of the new projects.