Turkey received a reprimand from Europe on Monday over a recent incident in Cypriot waters involving Turkish naval ships and a private oil drillship.
The Italian ENI drilling ship in block 3 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was met by six Turkish warships.
A European Commission spokeswoman told reporters on Monday: “Turkey needs to commit unequivocally to neighborly relations and avoid any kind of source of friction, threat or action directed against a member state.”
Over the weekend, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides hit out at what he called a “pirate” move by Ankara.
Greece also joined the criticism of “provocative” Turkey on Monday. The foreign ministry in Athens accused Ankara of trying to dispute “international legality by flagrantly violating the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean”.
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