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EU calls for dialogue with Turkey, end to tensions in Eastern Mediterranean

Monday, 31 August 2020 2:55 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 31 August 2020 2:55 PM ]

This handout photograph released by the Turkish Defence Ministry on August 12, 2020, shows Turkish seismic research vessel 'Oruc Reis' heading in the west of Antalya on the Mediterranean Sea. (Photo by AFP)

The European Union has called for dialogue with Turkey, demanding that Ankara refrain from unilateral steps that stoke tensions in eastern Mediterranean.

"It is essential to go into the dialogue, into a serious, honest dialogue tackling all the open issues because only in the dialogue and in negotiations, you can pursue the escalation and the path towards stability and lasting solutions, which are so necessary in our relations both as a neighbor of Turkey and as a partner of Turkey. And that concerns the individual (European Union) member states and the EU as a whole," Peter Stano, the spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said on Monday.

He added, “The (EU Foreign) Ministers were very clear and determined to show EU solidarity with its two affected member states - namely Cyprus and Greece - and they were very clear in their call on Turkish authorities to end any unilateral activities, which are escalating tensions in the Mediterranean and the ministers and the EU are very clear in preferring dialogue."

(Source: Reuters)

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