EU summit to condemn Turkey’s ‘illegal actions’ in East Med

The European Council “strongly condemns Turkey’s illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea” and underlines its “full solidarity with Cyprus and Greece,” according to a draft of conclusions for the European Union summit taking place in Brussels on Thursday.

The draft, which has been seen by Kathimerini, notes that “the European Council urgently calls on Turkey to cease these actions and respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources in accordance with EU and International Law.”

"In this context, it recalls Turkey’s obligation to respect International Law and good neighbourly relations, and normalize relations with all EU Member States including the Republic of Cyprus”, reads the draft text.

It goes on to express “grave concern” about the continued detention of EU citizens in Turkey and calls for the “swift and positive resolution of these issues in a dialogue with Member States.”

Last month, a drillship contracted by ENI to explore offshore Cyprus, abandoned mission, after Turkish warships blocked its path to its target in Block 3 of Cyprus’ EEZ.

On Wednesday, Cyprus Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said despite the incident Nicosia remained committed to exploiting hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned foreign energy companies not to "overstep the mark" in the Mediterranean after Turkey's warships blocked the Italian drilling vessel on February 9.

The standoff over exploiting energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean risks further complicating stalled efforts to reunify Cyprus following the collapse of UN-brokered peace talks last year.