EU foreign ministers slam continued Turkish gas drilling offshore Cyprus

London — EU foreign ministers have blasted Turkey for its continued gas exploration in the waters offshore Cyprus, saying late Friday that the "illegal" actions were having a "serious negative impact" across the full range of EU-Turkey relations.

Turkey last month sent its Yavuz drillship back into the Cyprus exclusive economic zone and is currently positioned in the northern region of Cyprus' Block 6.

It is the sixth time that Turkish drillships have entered the Cyprus EEZ during the last year despite protests against the drilling and the imposition of EU sanctions against officials at Turkey's state-owned TPAO.

"We deplore that Turkey has not yet responded to the EU's repeated calls to cease such activities and reiterate our call on Turkey to show restraint, refrain from such actions, and respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Cyprus, in accordance with international law," the EU Council said.

Cyprus is already home to as much as 550 Bcm of gas resources following the Aphrodite, Calypso and Glaucus discoveries of recent years, so the stakes are high as the dispute over maritime rights continues to intensify.

"The EU stands in full solidarity with Cyprus and reiterates that concrete steps towards creating an environment conducive to dialogue are needed," it said.

"Issues related to delimitation of exclusive economic zones and the continental shelf should be addressed through dialogue and negotiation in good faith, in full respect of international law and in pursuit of the principle of good neighborly relations."

"In this respect, we welcome once again the invitation by the government of Cyprus to Turkey to negotiate in good faith the maritime delimitation between their relevant coasts. The most recent escalating actions by Turkey regrettably go in the opposite direction."

Sanctions imposition

The EU Council in February placed two senior officials at TPAO under restrictive measures in relation to Turkey's drilling offshore Cyprus.

Measures were imposed against TPAO exploration head Mehmet Ferruh Akalin and deputy exploration director Ali Coscun Namoglu.

The EU in July last year already imposed limited sanctions against Turkey, but has now moved to target measures against those responsible for drilling.

Turkey has previously warned it would increase its presence in the East Mediterranean if EU sanctions were imposed.

Turkey has said it has the right to drill in some of the Cypriot EEZ under its interpretation of maritime law.

Ankara last week also slammed a declaration by Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the UAE that denounced Turkey's drilling in the Cypriot EEZ.

In the declaration, the foreign ministers of the five countries said Turkish gas drilling offshore Cyprus represented a "clear violation of international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea."

The ministers also condemned the escalation of Turkey's violations of Greek national airspace, including over flights of inhabited areas and territorial waters in violation of international law.

"The ministers urged Turkey to fully respect the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of all states in their maritime zones in the Eastern Mediterranean," it said.