A Turkish drone in Cyprus, in the military base of Gecitkale.

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AFP

Turkey rejected on Friday the threat of sanctions agitated by the European Union against it in response to its gas exploration activities described as "illegal" in the eastern Mediterranean.

“The continued use of a sanctions rhetoric is not constructive,” Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The EU must understand that it cannot get anything this way,” he said.

Highly coveted deposits

The leaders of the European Union meeting in summit in Brussels addressed to Turkey a message of firmness accompanied by a threat of sanctions if it does not cease its drilling considered as illegal in the territorial waters of Cyprus.

Turkey, Greece and Cyprus are fighting over oil fields in the eastern Mediterranean.

After demonstrations of force and martial declarations in August, Ankara and Athens agreed in September to resume "exploratory talks".

Sign of a desire for appeasement on the part of Ankara, an agreement was found Thursday at NATO between Greece and Turkey on a mechanism to avoid conflicts.

"Positive points", recognizes Turkey

At the end of the summit, European leaders offered Ankara the possibility of improving cooperation in certain areas and relaunching discussions on the modernization of the customs union, but on condition that Turkey ceases its drilling in the waters of Cyprus.

According to Berktay Mandiraci, an expert on Turkey at the International Crisis Group, the EU decision is "the best Ankara could hope for."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has indeed recognized "positive points", while considering that some passages were "disconnected from reality".

According to the ministry, the decision shows the will of certain countries to develop relations with Ankara, but also constitutes an example of "the taking hostage" of relations between Turkey and the EU by Greece and Cyprus.

Turkey also called on the EU to encourage dialogue between Turkish and Greek Cypriots to establish a resource sharing mechanism.

Cyprus has been divided in two since the invasion of the northern third of the Mediterranean island by the Turkish army in 1974 after a coup attempt to reattach the country to Greece.

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