EU sanctions Turkey for drilling off the coast of Cyprus

[vostok]

The European Union will reduce its financial assistance to Turkey and halt high-level talks with the country as part of a set of sanctions over oil and gas drilling off the coast of Cyprus.

EU foreign ministers who met in Brussels on Monday decided to reduce the pre-accession assistance to Turkey for 2020 by €145.8 million. They also suspended negotiations on an aviation agreement and halted high-level bilateral talks between the two countries.

Finally, they invited the European Investment Bank — the EU's not-for-profit lending institution — to review its lending activities in Turkey, which totalled €358.8 million last year.

The Council once again called on Turkey to refrain from any drilling activities off the coast of Cyprus and instead, "act in a spirit of good neighbourliness and respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Cyprus in accordance with international law."

It also said that "it remains seized of the matter" and that the bloc's top diplomat and the EU Commission will "continue to work on options for targeted measures."

READ MORE: Turkey-Cyprus dispute: Why are the two countries arguing over drilling rights?

Turkey sent a first drilling ship off the coast of Cyprus two months ago. The Republic of Cyprus legally has sovereignty over the whole island but it has been de facto partitioned with the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The EU condemned the move as "illegal" but Ankara says the exploration is legal because it is in the territorial waters of what it calls Northern Cyprus. Turkey is the only country to recognise the territory as such and inflamed tensions by sending a second drilling ship, which arrived in the area last week.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Turkey's foreign ministries said the EU sanctions "will in no way affect Turkey's determination to continue its hydrocarbon activities in the Eastern Mediterranean."

"These conclusions demonstrate how prejudiced and biased the EU is with regard to Cyprus as they make no reference to the Turkish Cypriots, who have equal rights over the natural resources of the Island, in total disregard of their existence in Cyprus," it added.
https://www.euronews.com/2019/07/16/eu-sanctions-turkey-for-drilling-off-the-coast-of-cyprus

 

[damm1t]

Turkey: EU sanctions over gas drilling ‘worthless’

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey on Tuesday rejected as “worthless” an initial set of sanctions approved by the European Union against Ankara, and vowed to send a new vessel to the eastern Mediterranean to reinforce its efforts to drill for hydrocarbons off the island of Cyprus.

EU foreign ministers on Monday approved sanctions against Turkey over its drilling for gas in waters where EU member Cyprus has exclusive economic rights. They said they were suspending talks on an air transport agreement, as well as high-level Turkey-EU dialogues, and would call on the European Investment Bank to review its lending to the country.

They also backed a proposal by the EU’s executive branch to reduce financial assistance to Turkey for next year. The ministers warned that additional “targeted measures” were being worked on to penalize Turkey, which started negotiations to join the EU in 2005.

The EU sanctions came as Turkey also faces possible economic sanctions from the U.S. over its purchase of a Russian-made missile defense system which Washington says is incompatible with NATO equipment and poses a threat to the U.S. F-35 fighter jet program. Turkey began taking delivery of the Russian S-400 system on Friday and planes carrying more components arrived in Turkey on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in North Macedonia, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the EU sanctions aimed to “appease” Cyprus and were of “no importance.”

“The EU needs us concerning the migration issue or other issues,” he said. “They will come to us and hold contacts; there is no escaping that.”

“They know that the decisions they took cannot be applied,” he said. “They were forced to take the worthless decisions under pressure from the Greek Cypriots and Greece.”

Cavusoglu added: “If you take such decisions against Turkey, we will increase our activities. We have three ships in the eastern Mediterranean, will with send a fourth.”

Earlier, the Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized the EU for ignoring the rights of Turkish Cypriots and accused the 28-nation bloc of “prejudice and bias.”

It added that Turkey was determined to protect its rights and the rights of Turkish Cypriots.

Two Turkish vessels escorted by warships are drilling for gas on either end of ethnically divided Cyprus. A third Turkish exploration ship is also in the area. Turkey insists that it has rights over certain offshore zones and that Turkish Cypriots have rights over others.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded in the wake of a coup by supporters of union with Greece. A Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence is recognized only by Turkey, which keeps more than 35,000 troops in the breakaway north. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but only the internationally recognized south enjoys full membership benefits.


Cypriot officials accuse Turkey of using the minority Turkish Cypriots in order to pursue its goal of exerting control over the eastern Mediterranean region.

The Cypriot government says it will take legal action against any oil and gas companies supporting Turkish vessels in any repeat attempt to drill for gas. Cyprus has already issued around 20 international arrest warrants against three international companies assisting one of the two Turkish vessels now drilling 42 miles (68 kilometers) off the island’s west coast.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[Wow]

Turkey is in every right to drill

 

[S Hussain]

The Zionists are out forTurkey