Turkey's Kalin says EU sanctions threat 'disappointing'

WASHINGTON

A draft EU summit statement about potential sanctions on Turkey is "disappointing," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.

Speaking during a German Marshall Fund virtual think tank event, Kalin said he has reviewed the document and hoped EU leaders would "avoid that language of sanctions and threats against Turkey, because sanctions will never work."

"We believe that our larger geopolitical, geostrategic agenda should not be hijacked by a very narrow agenda and maximalist demands of individual member countries," he said. "Yes, we do have differences with some countries over certain issues, but they should not dominate, they should not define the very parameters of our relationship with EU."

Amid recent tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration have upped their pressure on other EU members to impose sanctions on Turkey ahead of this week’s summit.

To date, the EU's current term president, Germany, and most EU members have been reluctant to take such action.

Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected the maritime boundary claims of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that these excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.

Ankara has sent drill ships in recent months to explore for energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting its own rights in the region, as well as those of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.