ENERGY: Erdogan tells Macron to shut up over Cyprus

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he put French leader Emmanuel Macron in his place by telling him to keep quiet when criticising Turkey for violating Cyprus waters to search for gas.

Macron has put his full support behind Cyprus and criticised Turkey for obstructing Nicosia’s efforts to tap natural resources within its exclusive economic zone.

“I personally told him: 'You cannot speak about Cyprus. You have nothing to do with Cyprus either close up or from afar.

I can speak, Greece can speak, the UK can speak, and the EU can speak, but you cannot speak',” Erdogan said about his meeting with Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Japan.

Erdogan commented after being asked by Turkish journalists to comment on a photograph showing him talking to the French president and holding him by the shoulder.

He added that talks with Macron on growing tension in the Eastern Mediterranean were “very positive.”

Brussels is mulling sanctions against Turkey for its violation of Cyprus’ sovereign territory after sending a vessel to drill for gas in its EEZ. In defiance of the EU stance, Ankara has sent a second ship to drill off Cyprus.