Greece and Cyprus call Europe to deal with Turkey

Greece’s Prime Minister Alex Tsipras along with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades announced on Wednesday their joint mission to ensure the EU sends a strong message to Turkey about its provocative behaviour.

Both leaders will be referring to Turkey's provocative actions in the Aegean and Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) during the European leaders' summit meetings in Brussels this Thursday and Friday.

According to sources Alexis Tsipras is expected to have meetings with Tusk, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Theresa May over the two days, to discuss Turkey, Cyprus and FYROM.

Tsipras is expected to especially emphasise the issue of the two Greek soldiers currently being held in a Turkish prison, seeking to coordinate and put stronger pressure on Ankara for their swift return. The two soldiers were arrested after crossing the border into Turkey during a border patrol, in what the Greek side says was an accidental incident caused by poor visibility in the area.

He will also outline Greece's positions on the European prospects of the Western Balkans and the progress of Athens' talks with Skopje and Tirana, which are crucial for the accession prospects of FYROM and Albania.

Tsipras will take part in a series of meetings while in Brussels, starting with a Party of European Socialists (PES) preparatory summit, where he will be attending as an observer, at 13:30 on Thursday.He will then participate in the European Council starting at 15:00 and the dinner for EU leaders at 20:30.

On Friday morning the Greek PM will take part in a working breakfast to discuss the departure of the United  Kingdom from the EU (Article 50).