- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Greece Continues 'Provocative' Steps Despite Turkish Diplomatic Efforts, Ankara Says

© AFP 2023 / -This handout photograph released by the Turkish Defence Ministry on August 12, 2020, shows Turkish seismic research vessel 'Oruc Reis' (C) as it is escorted by Turkish Naval ships in the Mediterranean Sea, off Antalya on August 10, 2020.
This handout photograph released by the Turkish Defence Ministry on August 12, 2020, shows Turkish seismic research vessel 'Oruc Reis' (C) as it is escorted by Turkish Naval ships in the Mediterranean Sea, off Antalya on August 10, 2020.  - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Relations between Turkey and the EU have been strained in recent months amid a row over drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, with Greece and Cyprus opposing Turkish operations in the disputed waters.

Greece has continued "provocative" steps despite diplomatic efforts made by Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Ankara on Tuesday. 

The minister added that "problems with the EU can only be solved if they act with common sense at the EU summit and later". Cavusoglu went on to say that Ankara expects the EU to act as an objective mediator in the dispute.

This comes after EU foreign ministers said on Monday that Turkey had failed to help resolve a dispute with Greece and Cyprus over drilling for natural gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean. They added, however, that any decision on retaliatory sanctions will be made at an EU summit on 10-11 December.

On the same day, Daily Sabah published a video message from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, emphasising that Ankara will not tolerate any attempts made by other countries in order to confine Turkey "to the Antalya bay in Eastern Mediterranean". He also said that if Greece wants a lasting solution to the eastern Mediterranean issue, it should rely on diplomacy.

© AP Photo / Burhan OzbiliciTurkey's research vessel, Oruc Reis, rear, anchored off the coast of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the return of a Turkish survey vessel to port Sunday from a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean that has been at the heart of a summer stand-off between Greece and Turkey over energy rights.
Greece Continues 'Provocative' Steps Despite Turkish Diplomatic Efforts, Ankara Says - Sputnik International
Turkey's research vessel, Oruc Reis, rear, anchored off the coast of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the return of a Turkish survey vessel to port Sunday from a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean that has been at the heart of a summer stand-off between Greece and Turkey over energy rights.

In the past few months, Turkey has sent several drilling vessels to explore for energy resources in the disputed waters of the eastern Mediterranean, thus provoking tension in relations with Greece and Cyprus who claim these waters form part of their exclusive economic zones. Turkey says that claims made by Greece and Cyprus violate its sovereign rights. Cavusoglu also said he did not expect any sanctions from the EU over the dispute, adding that the bloc itself lacked a common approach to the conflict. 

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала