Turkey rejects the threat of sanctions imposed by the European Union in response to its illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“The continued use of a rhetoric of sanctions is not constructive,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The European Union must understand that nothing can be gained in this way.”

The statement said that some elements of the European Union summit decisions on Turkey are positive, but many points are in conflict with reality. The result shows that Turkey’s relations with the European Union “became hostage” of Greece and Cyprus.

Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots need to jointly set up a mechanism to co-ordinate their hydrocarbon activities and ensure revenue sharing between the two sides, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

“Until this is achieved, the Turkish Cypriot side will continue its activities in the field of hydrocarbons through TPAO (Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı),” the statement said.

Source: ANA-MPA