At the Brussels Summit about Turkey's hostilities against Greece and Cyprus in the the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu warned in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa that the EU should not to impose sanctions against his country.
In particular, when asked about the discussions on the imposition of sanctions, he said that "the European Union does not dare to impose sanctions on us."
He then noted that such a step "would have the opposite effect and would only strengthen our determination to protect our rights and those of the Turkish Cypriots," without explaining what so-called rights of Turkish-speaking Cypriots would be violated.
At the same time, he spoke once again about dialogue, saying that "it is urgent to normalize our relations."
"We are taking all necessary measures in this direction and we expect the EU to do the same," he said.
He went on to say that Turkey has fulfilled its refugee commitments.
"Thanks to our efforts, irregular migratory flows to Europe have been reduced by 92%. However, the EU has not kept its commitments," he claimed without explaining what commitments the EU has not kept.
He turned his fire once again against Greece: "The allegations about the Greek Cypriot maritime border are excessive and contrary to international law," without once again explaining which international law.
"Achieving a fair maritime border in the Eastern Mediterranean is the main pillar of our policy. That is why Turkey, starting with President Erdogan, has called on the coastal states of the Eastern Mediterranean for dialogue and co-operation. We sincerely hope that Greece enters a substantial dialogue process," he added.
Turkey is one of only 15 countries in the whole world who has not signed and ratified the United Nations Charter Law of the Sea as this prime piece of international law regarding maritime space and continental shelves favors Greece.
