Press Releases

Following the conclusion of the informal meeting of the 27 heads of state or government held on 23 February 2018, in Brussels, the President of the European Council, Mr Donald Tusk, and the President of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, held a joint press conference.

During the press conference, President Tusk made the following statement on the Republic of Cyprus’s EEZ:

"T"his evening President Anastasiades and Prime Minister Tsipras informed us about the latest developments regarding Turkey's illegal violations in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the Aegean. On behalf of all the EU leaders, I would like to express our solidarity with Cyprus and Greece, and urgently call on Turkey to terminate these activities. I reiterate our support for the sovereign right of the Republic of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources, in accordance with EU and international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. These actions contradict Turkey's commitment to good neighbourly relations and their normalisation with all Member States. We are ready to cooperate with Turkey and will assess at our March European Council whether the conditions are there to hold the Leaders' Meeting with Turkey in Varna on 26 March".

---------

ML