On Monday 11 November, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs planned that Turkey would continue drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, a few hours after the adoption of a framework of sanctions by the European Union Foreign Affairs Council, in retaliation for illegal drilling activities.
"Those who believe that Turkey will give in to threats and renounce its rights in the Eastern Mediterranean have vain expectations. No one should doubt that we will continue our exploration and drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean", the Ministry emphasised in a statement. According to them, Turkey had already "repeatedly and forcefully" warned that it would not stop "protecting its rights" in the Eastern Mediterranean, arising from international law and also the rights and interests of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)", which are "despite all the unintelligible measures of the EU". The TRNC is only recognised by Turkey.
"It is clear that the EU (...), having long lost its credibility as an impartial actor capable of contributing to a solution in Cyprus, will never be able to adopt a constructive and useful attitude regarding the Eastern Mediterranean", the Ministry added.
On 12 November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the press that Europeans had "no interest in issuing ultimatums to Turkey concerning (its) relations with Cyprus". "We don't attach much importance to it and we will continue along this course", he added. The President also said that he could return all prisoners of the Islamic State group which are being held in Turkey to their countries of origin, even if these countries refuse to take them back.
On 11 November, the Foreign Affairs Council adopted the framework for restrictive measures in response to Turkey's unauthorised drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Council of 14 October announced that it would set up such a framework (see EUROPE 12348/2).
As announced by EUROPE (see EUROPE 12366/19), individuals or entities responsible for drilling activities related to hydrocarbon exploration and production in its territorial waters, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or continental shelf, which have not been authorised by Cyprus, may be subject to an assets freeze and a visa ban. Such drilling activities include, in particular, cases where the EEZ or the continental shelf has not been defined in accordance with international law, as these activities may compromise or hinder the conclusion of this type of delimitation agreement. Restrictive measures may also concern individuals or entities providing financial, technical or material support for the above-mentioned drilling activities and those associated with them.
In addition, EU individuals and entities are prohibited from making funds available to listed individuals and entities.
This framework of sanctions is currently empty. According to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the next step could be to make proposals to identify individuals and entities that could be sanctioned. "We will see when and if this happens", she added.
See the Council's decision: http://bit.ly/34Rux97 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)