Cyprus blocking EU sanctions on Belarus

Cyprus is holding hostage EU sanctions on Belarus in return for a new Turkey blacklist, EU sources have said, as Greek and Turkish ministers traded harsh words in the European Parliament (EP).

The Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades, agreed, along with the 26 other EU leaders at a summit in August, to impose visa bans and asset freezes on Belarusian officials guilty of violence and election rigging.

But in recent days, his diplomats in Brussels imposed a so-called "scrutiny res...