Cyprus hopes that Russia can convince Turkey to stop its drilling for hydrocarbons in the island's exclusive economic zone, Permanent Secretary of the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tasos Tzionis told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2019) Cyprus hopes that Russia can convince Turkey to stop its drilling for hydrocarbons in the island's exclusive economic zone, Permanent Secretary of the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tasos Tzionis told Sputnik in an interview."We count on those who can help," Tzionis said, listing UN Security Council and the European Union as allies on this matter.
"We hope that Russia, which has channels of communication with Turkey, will also convey its position to the Turkish government so that they show restraint and act in accordance with the rules," Tzionis added.
According to the diplomat, Cyprus has taken some steps on its own based on its laws, but Turkey was not deterred.
"But I believe that there are results. We are not happy only with those results, but it is better than nothing. It is a process. We hope that by the end Turkey might think twice whether to continue or not, with this reaction that it receives," he said.
The European Union earlier this week agreed on potential sanctions against Turkey over the drilling in the Mediterranean Sea and will now have to agree the targets of these restrictive measures.
Turkey maintains that it and the Turkish Cypriot community have the right to the natural resources in question.
