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BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are set to condemn Turkey's efforts to stop natural gas exploration off Cyprus ahead of a meeting next week between top EU officials and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In a draft statement, seen by The Associated Press Thursday, they call on Turkey "to cease these actions and respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources in accordance with EU and international law."
Last month, Turkish warships blocked a rig from reaching an area southeast of Cyprus where Italian company Eni was scheduled to drill.
Ankara said it would prevent any further drilling off Cyprus without the direct involvement of the ethnically divided island's breakaway Turkish Cypriots.
The EU leaders, meeting in Brussels Thursday and Friday, urged Turkey to normalize ties with Cyprus, which was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to a coup by supporters of union with Greece.
The leaders also expressed "grave concern" over the detention of EU citizens in Turkey and called for swift dialogue to have them released. Turkey is still holding two Greek soldiers who Athens says strayed across their border on March 1 due to bad weather.
Despite threats from Brussels to cancel a summit with Turkey next Monday, preparations are still going ahead and it appears Erdogan will hold talks in Varna, Bulgaria, with EU Council President Donald Tusk, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
Mainly Muslim Turkey is a candidate to join the 28-nation EU but its membership talks are at a virtual standstill, in part due to tensions over Cyprus. But the EU relies on Erdogan to ensure that refugees and other migrants don't leave Turkey in search of sanctuary, jobs or better lives in Europe, and so is cautious about how it handles Ankara.
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