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Ankara (AP) - Turkey wants to renew its strained relations with the European Union.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made this clear in a video conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday, as reported by the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
"Turkey wants to turn a new page in relations with the EU," said Erdogan, according to a statement from the Turkish Directorate for Communication.
He also thanked Merkel for her efforts to promote relations between Turkey and the EU - and praised the positive developments at the last EU summit.
Despite the ongoing confrontation, the heads of state and government of the European Union at their summit in Brussels on December 11th initially waived severe sanctions against Turkey and merely paved the way for new punitive measures against individuals and companies.
You should meet other parties involved in the controversial Turkish search for natural gas off Cyprus.
Far-reaching steps such as sanctions against entire branches of the economy or an EU arms embargo, however, were not decided.
Stricter sanctions are not off the table.
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Turkey has been criticized primarily for its controversial gas exploration in sea areas off Cyprus and near Greek islands.
Provocations in the conflict over the partition of Cyprus as well as violations of the UN arms embargo against Libya and interference in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh are also considered unacceptable.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201219-99-751047 / 2
Report to Anadolu