Macron seeks EU action, sanctions over Turkey's violations in eastern Mediterranean
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday
that it would be a grave error by the European Union to not respond to Turkey's
moves in the eastern Mediterranean and called for more sanctions on those who
violated Greek and Cypriot maritime zones, Reuters reported.
“In this part of the Mediterranean, which is vital
for our two countries, energy and security issues are essential. What’s at
stake is a power struggle in particular of Turkey and Russia which are
asserting themselves more and more and in the face of which the EU is still
doing too little,” Reuters cited Macron as saying during a press conference
alongside his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades.
On Tuesday, Turkey's navy issued an advisory known
as a Navtex, saying it would conduct seismic surveys between the Mediterranean
islands of Cyprus and Crete.
Athens accused Turkey of seeking to enroach on
Greece's continental shelf in an escalation of tensions between the two NATO
allies.
“I stand fully behind Cyprus and Greece in the face
of the Turkish violations of their sovereignty. It is unacceptable that the
maritime space of (EU) member states be violated and threatened. Those who are
doing that must be sanctioned,” Macron added.
Turkey's deployment of vessels to search for oil and
gas off Cyprus has stoked tensions in the region, where a number of countries
are vying for the rights to drill for hydrocarbon resources - prompting the EU
to hit Ankara with sanctions in February. France has been seeking additional
sanctions against Turkey, which the French president said is necessary to stop
Ankara's violations.
“It would be a serious mistake to leave our security
in the Mediterranean in the hands of other actors. This is not an option for
Europe and it is not something that France will let happen,” Macron said.
