The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on Monday that he would be meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, after the Foreign Affairs Council to discuss Brussels-Ankara relations in the run-up to this week's EU summit
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2021) The European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on Monday that he would be meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, after the Foreign Affairs Council to discuss Brussels-Ankara relations in the run-up to this week's EU summit.
The top EU diplomats are convening for the council session in Brussels on Monday, with Turkey and Russia being the two main items on the agenda ahead of the EU summit, which will be held via video link on Thursday and Friday.
"We have been preparing a report, that was published yesterday, and the ministers will take stock of this report in order to prepare the European Union Council. So, Turkey is the first item on the agenda, but we also have a southern neighborhood and Russia. ... After the Council, I will have the opportunity to meet with [Cavusoglu] to continue discussing the report and the decisions that the Council has to take at the end of the week," Borrell said ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting.
The virtual EU summit comes as Brussels and Ankara are looking to defuse tensions that flared up last year over Turkey's exploration for gas in waters that Cyprus and Greece claim as their exclusive economic zones.
Turkey and Greece have since resumed exploratory talks on the maritime disputes, putting the EU's plans to expand sanctions against Ankara on the back burner. In addition, European nations and Ankara have recently intensified contacts ahead of the upcoming UN-led informal meeting on Cyprus.
