ENERGY: Germany urges Turkey to refrain from illegal Cyprus drills

Germany has called on Turkey to avoid escalation of tensions and refrain from illegal drilling activity off Cyprus.

German Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Christofer Burger said: “We are monitoring developments in the Eastern Mediterranean with great concern. In particular, the Turkish announcements for drillings southeast of the Cypriot peninsula of Karpasia.”

“We call upon Turkey to avoid escalation and refrain from illegal drillings. We call for a solution of conflicts through dialogue and respect of international law,” he added.

On whether the EU intends to take stricter measures in case Turkey continuous its illegal drillings the German Foreign Ministry official said “we just decided on these measures. Now these measures are being implemented. On this basis we will continue making our position clear against Turkey”.

The EU on Monday suspended negotiations on the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement and agreed not to hold the Association Council and further meetings of the EU-Turkey high-level dialogues for the time being.

It also endorsed a proposal to reduce the pre-accession assistance to Turkey for 2020 and invited the European Investment Bank to review its lending activities in Turkey, notably with regard to sovereign-backed lending.

Turkey brushed off the sanctions saying it would send more vessels to explore hydrocarbons off Cyprus.