Turkey: 5.3 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast

EU foreign ministers said on Monday Turkey had failed to help end a row with Greece and Cyprus over potential gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean. As a result the EU will impose sanctions on more Turkish individuals and companies responsible for drilling in the contested waters, according to a draft statement prepared for EU leaders to agree at a summit on Thursday. NATO ally Turkey has been at odds with EU members Greece and Cyprus over the extent of their continental shelves in the east Mediterranean.

Tensions flared in August when Turkey sent its Oruc Reis survey vessel to waters claimed by Greece.

France, with support from the European Parliament, is leading the EU push for sanctions. Mr Erdogan said Turkey would not “bow down to threats and blackmail”, though he also repeated his call for dialogue.  

Speaking to reporters ahead of a visit to Azerbaijan, Mr Erdogan said: “The EU has never acted honestly, it has never kept its promises (towards Turkey). But… we have always been patient. We are still being patient.

“Any sanctions decision that can be taken against Turkey do not concern us much.”

Claiming Greece were acting cowardly, Mr Erdogan said Greece had “run” from negotiations with Turkey despite agreeing to resume talks over their conflicting maritime claims.

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He added: “On the eastern Mediterranean, we will continue to protect whatever our rights there are.

“It is never possible for us to compromise here. But if Greece really acts honestly as a neighbour, we will continue to be available at the table.”

After withdrawing the Oruc Reis vessel for what it said was maintenance ahead of a previous EU summit in October, Ankara redeployed it shortly after, citing unsatisfactory results from the summit. It withdrew the vessel again last week.

The chair of EU summits, Charles Michel, has warned Turkey not to play “cat and mouse” by withdrawing ships before EU summits, only to redeploy them afterwards.

The EU sanctions, if agreed on Thursday, will see Brussels “prepare additional listings” on the basis of a sanctions list already in place since 2019 and “if need be work on the extension” of its scope, according to the draft statement seen by Reuters.

Negotiations over the two-page statement are still ongoing and Greece and Cyprus, which accuse Turkey of drilling for hydrocarbons off its continental shelf, believe the sanctions do not go far enough, according to diplomats briefed on internal discussions.

EU leaders are considering whether to make good on a threat made in October to sanction Turkey over the drilling for hydrocarbons off the coast of Cyprus and off Greece.

On Monday, EU foreign ministers said Turkey had failed to help end the row with Greece and Cyprus over potential gas resources, but they left any decision on retaliatory sanctions for the EU summit.

The EU created a sanctions programme last year to punish unauthorised exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, freezing assets of people and companies accused of planning or participating in activities in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone or on its continental shelf.

So far, only two senior officials of Turkey’s state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) have been put on the sanctions list but Cyprus proposed a list of more names earlier this year.

Cyprus’ internationally recognised government discovered offshore gas in 2011 but has been at loggerheads with Turkey over maritime zones around the island, where it has granted license to multinational companies for oil and gas research.

Turkey, which does not have diplomatic relations with Cyprus’ government, says it is operating in waters on its own continental shelf or areas where Turkish Cypriots have rights.

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