Public Radio of Armenia. EU leaders have agreed on sanctions targeting individuals and companies in response to Turkey’s gas exploration in waters off the coast of Greece and Cyprus, Deutasche Welle reports.
Actions against Turkey over Ankara’s unauthorized gas drilling off the coast of Greece and Cyprus, according to a decision released early Friday morning on the sidelines of the leaders’ summit in Brussels.
In August, Turkey sent a gas exploration ship to survey the seabed in waters claimed by Cyprus and Greece, triggering a diplomatic row with the EU. Since then, Brussels has been weighing its options for pressuring Turkey to cease gas exploration in the region.
The decision paves the way for penalizing individuals and companies involved in planning and carrying out the gas exploration with travel bans into the EU and asset freezes.
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The vice-president of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation and the deputy director of its exploration department are currently on an EU sanctions list. The new sanctions would add as yet unspecified people and organizations to that list.
