BRUSSELS — 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, 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, urged Turkey to normalize ties with Cyprus. </s> BRUSSELS — 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, 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, urged Turkey to normalize ties with Cyprus. </s> 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, 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, urged Turkey to normalize ties with Cyprus. </s> EU 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, they call on Ankara “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,” AP reports. Turkey said it is ready to prevent any 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. </s> 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.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday called on Turkey to avoid threats and “refrain from any actions that might damage good neighborly” ties after Cyprus, a member of the bloc, accused the Turkish military of obstructing a ship exploring for gas.

Cyprus is one of several states, also including Israel and Lebanon, racing to tap gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean.

Greek Cypriots run Cyprus’s internationally recognized government, while Turkish Cypriots have a breakaway state in the north - recognized only by Ankara - and say resources around the island belong to them too.

Cyprus said on Sunday the Turkish military had obstructed a vessel contracted by Italian oil company Eni which was approaching an area to explore for natural gas.

After speaking to the Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, the chairman of EU leaders, Donald Tusk, said:

“I call on Turkey to avoid threats or actions against any EU member and instead commit to good neighborly relations, peaceful dispute settlement and respect for territorial sovereignty.”

Turkey’s foreign ministry, in a statement on Sunday, did not make any mention of obstructing the Eni ship but said the case was a unilateral move by Greek Cypriots that violated the sovereign rights of Turkish Cypriots.

It said the Greek Cypriots were jeopardizing security and stability on the ethnically split island and in the region.

A spokeswoman for the EU’s executive European Commission echoed Tusks’s line by telling journalists on Monday: “Turkey needs to commit unequivocally to neighborly relations and avoid any kind of source of friction, threat or action directed against a member state.”

“The EU also stresses the need to respect the sovereignty of member states over their territorial sea and airspace,” she added.

“PROVOCATIVE CONDUCT”

On Monday Greece accused Turkey of violating international law and said its “provocative conduct” was inconsistent with that of a country seeking accession to the EU.

“We call on Turkey to desist from further unlawful actions and to comply with its obligations stemming from international law,” the foreign ministry in Athens said in a statement.

Relations between the EU and Turkey have become strained by disagreements over democracy and human rights, especially since a large-scale crackdown in the wake of a failed Turkish coup in 2016.

However, European countries still rely on Turkey as a NATO ally and as a brake to help reduce an influx of Syrian and other migrants and refugees into the bloc.

Turkey’s EU minister, Omer Celik, will join 28 foreign ministers of the bloc for talks in Bulgaria on Friday. Ankara is pushing to lift visa requirements for its citizens traveling to Europe.

The EU is unwilling to grant Turks that concession now but, careful to avoid upsetting President Tayyip Erdogan too much, is due to commit more money for the large number of Syrian refugees living in Turkey. </s> BRUSSELS – With Turkish warships blocking Cypriot waters from foreign energy companies licensed to drill for oil and gas, European Union leaders meeting in the bloc’s capital called for it to stop and for recognition of the island by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey has unlawfully occupied the northern third since a 1974 invasion and Erdogan, in the wake of collapsed reunification talks last year, sent warships into Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), part of which Turkey also claims.

Turkey – which wants to join the EU to which Cyprus belongs – refuses to recognize the legitimate government, bars Cypriot ships and planes, and has demanded a share in any potentially lucrative finds of energy while insisting Turkish-Cypriots also share in

“The European Council strongly condemns Turkey`s continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and underlines its full solidarity with Cyprus and Greece,” said the final text of the European Council’s statement, the Cyprus Mail said.

Without an army, the EU takes to issuing press releases of various concerns, grave, deep, etc. as it otherwise has little leverage even though it could further stymie Turkey’s entry hopes that were dashed when Germany and France said accession talks should halt.

“Recalling its conclusions of October 2014 and the declaration of 21 September 2005, the European Council urgently calls 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,” the EU statement said.

“In this context, it recalls Turkey’s obligation to respect international law and good neighborly relations, and normalize relations with all EU member states including the Republic of Cyprus,” it added.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry responded with a blast back. “The statement that was issued contained unacceptable comments against our country that serve the interests of Greece and the Greek Cypriots,” spokesman Hami Aksoy was quoted by Agence France-Presse as telling reporters.

Earlier in the day and ahead of the summit, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades met the President of the European Council Donald Tusk to discuss Turkey’s belligerence in the Eastern Mediterranean.

 The EU tries to walk a fine line with Turkey, speaking out during tense moments but backing off later as it needs that country’s cooperation in not letting refugees and migrants who went there after fleeing war and strife in the Middle East to get to Greek islands and try to reach more prosperous European countries before the borders were shut to them. </s> NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - The European Union should "consider appropriate action" against Turkey if it doesn't stop an "illegal" gas drilling bid in waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights, the leaders of southern EU states said Friday.

In a joint declaration issued at the end of their meeting in the Maltese capital, the leaders of France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Malta expressed their full support for Cyprus' sovereign rights to exploit its national resources and repeated their condemnation of Turkey's actions.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades expressed his "deepest gratitude" for the leaders' expression of solidarity with his country against Turkey's "provocations."

A Turkish drill ship has been anchored 41 miles off Cyprus' western coast for several weeks, but it is unclear if it has started drilling. Turkey says it is defending its rights and those of breakaway Turkish Cypriots to the area's energy reserves.

Cyprus' government says Turkey is acting in blatant disregard of international law.

Although it hasn't said so publicly, the Cypriot government has issued international arrest warrants for the ship's crew and officials from foreign companies assisting in the drilling. A Cypriot government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the arrest warrants number in the "double digits" and target officials "in decision-making positions."

Turkey warned this week that it would give the "necessary response" to Cyprus over the arrest warrants.

Cyprus Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said the Cypriot government won't be drawn into a "publicity-oriented confrontation" with Turkey.

But he repeated on private TV station Sigma on Thursday that some drilling support companies had stopped collaboration with Turkey following actions that he said have been taken by the Cypriot government and "by companies which are lawfully authorized to operate within Cyprus' exclusive economic zone."

ExxonMobil, France's Total and Italy's Eni are among the companies licensed to search for gas inside Cyprus' exclusive economic zone. </s> EU Affairs Minister Ömer Çelik on Friday criticized statements from EU leaders that Turkey is illegally blocking the exploration of a potential natural gas field off the island of Cyprus.

"The statement released by EU leaders is not acceptable for Turkey," Çelik said. He added that it was the EU that accused Greek Cyprus and Greece because of the failed Crans-Montana negotiations to resolve the problem of the ethnically split island last year. He also cited the constructive and benign approach Turkey will adopt during Turkey-EU summit scheduled to take place on March 26.

EU leaders released a statement on Thursday that said Turkey is continuing illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.

The EU "urgently calls on Turkey to cease these actions and respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources," the statement said.

EU leaders in Brussels discussed relations with Turkey in light of the upcoming summit, with Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaking on recent concerns.

Greek Cyprus has been trying to exclude Turkish Cyprus and Turkey, which has been conducting seismic surveys in the area and exercising its legal rights in accordance with international maritime law. The government in the south of the island last month commissioned Italian energy company ENI, which declared the discovery of a potentially sizable gas field off the southwestern coast close to Egypt's Zohr deposit, which is the largest-ever discovered in the Mediterranean. However, Turkey immediately deployed warships to the region and prevented the Italian energy firm from continuing its operations in the region. As a result, ENI's drilling vessel left the area. The disregard for Turkish Cyprus's rights in the region did not stop with the ENI vessel. Following the Turkish Navy's blockade of ENI, early in March, vessels from U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil and state-owned Qatar Petroleum consortium were reported to have arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean to conduct offshore drilling activities.

The issue has reignited old tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 into a predominantly Greek south, which is an EU member, and a Turkish north whose sovereignty is only recognized by Ankara.
The European Union calls on Turkey to cease military actions aimed at enforcing Turkish claims to disputed natural gas deposits. The bloc also asks Turkey to release detained EU citizens.