Ankara does not expect to be sanctioned by the European Union over maritime disputes with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, as the EU does not have a unified stance on the matter, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th September, 2020) Ankara does not expect to be sanctioned by the European Union over maritime disputes with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, as the EU does not have a unified stance on the matter, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.
On Sunday, the Turkish Oruc Reis research vessel was reported to have left the disputed area for its base near Turkey's Antalya amid increasing tension in the region. Earlier last week, the seven Mediterranean EU members, including France and Greece, confirmed their readiness to sanction Ankara if it does not resume dialogue and persist in conducting allegedly unilateral activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, during the MED7 summit in Corsica.
"France, Greece, and Greek Cyprus are working on the idea of sanctions. Other countries have not supported [it]. I am not expecting sanctions, although such a possibility remains. There are countries within the EU, which do not support them [sanctions]. Such a decision must be adopted unanimously," Cavusoglu told the Turkish NTV broadcaster.
The minister described the EU as being taken hostage by Greece.
"What are they trying to achieve? That we would abandon our rights? No, on the contrary, we have become even more determined. The EU has to decide: they will either be with Turkey or pander to a pampered country," he added.
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have been brewing for many months around Turkey's exploration for gas in waters that Cyprus and Greece claim as their exclusive economic zones. The situation was exacerbated this summer, as Turkey sent the Oruc Reis ship, accompanied by a fleet of military vessels, to drill in what Greece considers its continental shelf.
