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On Monday, German Chancellor Heiko Maas highlighted the need for the European Union to continue its dialogue with Turkey, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed a speech to Europeans, asking them to get rid of what he described as strategic blindness.
In a press release he made after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in the Belgian capital Brussels, Maas said the summit of EU leaders on Thursday and Friday will discuss developments in relations with Turkey.
We believe that the European Union should continue the dialogue with Turkey in principle, he added, noting that Germany’s efforts have not yet been successful in reaching a consensus (reconciliation) between Greece and Cyprus on the one hand and Turkey on the other (on the Mediterranean).
He noted that the European Union wants a consensus among its members on how to respond to Turkey’s movements in the eastern Mediterranean.
Earlier, Maas said that Germany tried to establish a dialogue between Turkey and the European Union, but the crisis in the eastern Mediterranean saw many provocations and escalation between Greece and Turkey. “Therefore, we will talk about what consequences we should impose,” he added.
Today, Monday, the ministers of the European Union discussed the situation in the eastern Mediterranean and the relationship with Turkey, but the ministers were not expected to make decisions at their meeting today, but would leave that for a summit that will be held next Thursday on Thursday. EU leaders who called on Turkey last October to stop drilling in the disputed waters of the eastern Mediterranean.
European Union Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Joseph Borrell said after the European talks that they had not seen a change in Turkey’s behavior in the eastern Mediterranean, adding: “We strengthen cooperation with the United States and transatlantic relations are two sides of the same coin. “
Greece calls on Europeans to act
On the other hand, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Monday that the European Union should take action on Turkey’s “shameful” behavior, adding that Ankara had not responded to goodwill gestures from the European Union.
On Monday, European Union foreign ministers discussed whether there were grounds to impose sanctions on Turkey, which is involved in a dispute with European Union members Greece and Cyprus, over maritime rights in the Mediterranean.
European Union leaders will debate the issue at a summit to be held on December 10-11, after early warnings were issued in October that sanctions were an option.
Libya warns of the dangers of tension in the Mediterranean
Parallel to the European movement and the demands of the Greeks to pressure Turkey; Libya’s Government of National Accord Foreign Minister Muhammad al-Taher Siyala warned that the tension in the eastern Mediterranean threatens to escalate into clashes, accusing some countries of inflaming the situation out of political considerations and revenge, and warning to fall into confrontations and confrontations.
After a meeting with her Turkish counterpart Davut Cavusoglu in Antalya, Siala called on all parties to exercise restraint, move away from what she described in the language of threat and intimidation, and immediately sit at the dialogue table without preconditions. and comply with international maritime law.
Siyala said that the Libyan-Turkish maritime note is not directed against any country and does not affect the rights of others in any way.
Many files
Tensions eased when Turkey returned the exploration ship Aruj Reis to its ports in late November, but European Union officials and diplomats said that many problems related to Libya, Syria, Russia and the situation inside Turkey strengthened the positions of the European Union to Ankara.
“I am not aware of any Union government that questions the view that the situation is worse than in October and that leaders should think about the consequences,” Reuters quoted a senior EU official as saying. “We demand a change, but it has not materialized.”
German Foreign Minister: The Eastern Mediterranean crisis witnessed many provocations and its consequences must be discussed (Reuters)The European Union says that Turkish exploration and reconnaissance vessels have continued to operate in the disputed waters with Greece and Cyprus.
And last week, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called on Turkey to stop playing “cat and mouse” by making concessions that it would later back down, as he himself put it.
Strategic blindness
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the European Union to accelerate what he described as strategic blindness in the eastern Mediterranean.
He added that the European Union must not act according to the whims of Greece and the Greek side of Cyprus, noting that Turkey is not seeking to scale the eastern Mediterranean, but is working to resolve differences cooperatively and fairly.
He asked to move away from the policy of exclusion and bring all the actors in the region to the negotiating table. He noted that Ankara had previously proposed the organization of a conference in which all Mediterranean coastal countries, including the Turkish part of Cyprus, would participate, and stressed that this proposal remained valid.
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