EU ministers criticize Turkey over Hagia Sophia, drilling

CAIRO – 13 July 2020: European Union foreign ministers criticized Turkey for starting gas exploration operations in disputed Mediterranean waters and transforming the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque on Monday.

 

The ministers were planning months ago to discuss taking a tougher stand on Ankara though no urgent measures were expected.

 

"When I see now what is happening with Hagia Sophia, that is a blow," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said. Hagia Sophia was originally built in Istanbul as a Christian cathedral, and the pope and others have expressed their sadness and criticism of President RecepTayyipErdogan's move.

 

EU Foreign Affairs Chief JosepBorrell was in Turkey last week where he also discussed Ankara’s disputes with Greece and Cyprus over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean region.

 

Turkey has dispatched warship-escorted vessels to drill for gas in an area where Cyprus insists it has exclusive rights. The Turkish government has said it’s acting to protect its interests in the area's natural resources and those of Turkish Cypriots.

 

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that the movements in the Mediterranean were “a reason for worrying” for the 27-nation bloc, but insisted that human rights and democracy issues would also be taken up during the regular monthly meeting.

 

Turkish Foreign Minister MevlütÇavuşoğlu said earlier in a press conference that his country will start exploration in the eastern Mediterranean based on the agreement signed between the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Sarraj, and the Turkish government in 2019.

 

On July 9, Cyprus' Minister of Defense KaralambosPetrides discussed the situation in the eastern Mediterranean and the Special Economic Zone of Cyprus during his meetings with the ambassadors of Greece, France, and Italy. He also pointed out that strengthening cooperation and agreements between neighboring countries leads in turn to stability and security in the region.

 

In December 2019, Turkey signed with the GNA, which is an interim non-elected government that is recognized by the United Nations, two MoUs on defense, and gas drilling in the Mediterranean.

 

Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt have strongly criticized a Turkish agreement with the Tripoli based government in Libya. The agreement would allow Turkey to claim a large swathe of the Mediterranean, infringing the sovereign rights of regional neighbors.