The head of EU diplomacy called for a decision on sanctions against Turkey

EU High President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the European Parliament will have to make “difficult decisions” on Turkey at the summit of foreign ministers, which will be held on September 24 and 25.

At the same time, the European diplomat noted that there is no unity among European countries on the Turkish issue, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube и Max.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

Borrell

Let us recall that at the end of August, Borrell threatened Turkey with new sanctions if there was no progress in the dialogue with Greece to resolve the crisis in the Mediterranean.

Athens and Nicosia (Cyprus) condemn Turkey for oil and gas exploration in their territorial waters, while Ankara says it has equal rights to develop these shelves, disagreeing with the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, which transferred these Aegean waters to Greece and Cyprus.

“It is clear to me that we must defend our interests and demonstrate our commitment to defend the rights and interests of the EU, and in particular Greece and Cyprus, which are under threat,” Borrell said. “Currently there is no unity among the EU member states (on the Turkish issue - ed.), but this work will continue so that decisions on sanctions against Belarus and Turkey are made at the same pace as we agreed at the informal meeting in Berlin.”

Also, according to the High Representative, it is simultaneously necessary to try to establish a “minimum of trust and dialogue” with Turkey in order to “stop the recent escalation, look for ways to solve our problems and improve our relations.” According to Borrell, one does not contradict the other, since “this is diplomacy.”

“The time has come for leaders to make difficult decisions,” the diplomat concluded.

At the same time, according to existing standards in the European Union, a decision on sanctions against a third country is made only in case of unanimous support of the Union members.