Borell to visit Cyprus, says island rightly complains about Turkey's activities

Greece and Cyprus have been rightly complaining about Turkey's drilling activities near their coastlines, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borell said Monday, noting the EU27 are increasingly concerned about the increasing escalations from Turkey.

According to EU sources, Borrell will travel to Cyprus ahead of the foreign affairs council to be held on July 13.

In statements after the foreign affairs council held on Monday via videoconference to discuss Turkey’s activity in the region, with the participation for an hour and a half of the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Borell said “the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean is becoming worse.”

“Greece and Cyprus have been rightly complaining about the fact that there are drillings very near their coastline,” he said.

Invited to comment on Pompeo’s reaction to calls for a joint transatlantic message to Turkey for de-escalation and the future EU planning on the issue, Borrell said this was discussed, but Pompeo’s main concerns regarding the Eastern Mediterranean are related to the situation in Libya.

The EU official said that the next foreign affairs council will discuss the issue of the bloc’s affairs with Turkey.