Fossil energy – Turkey
Turkey will continue its activities to explore oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last Friday.
Speaking in the northwestern province of Sakarya, Erdoğan said Turkey had been receiving “signals of natural gas” in the Eastern Mediterranean and vowed to continue defending Turkey’s rights in the region.
EU leaders had threatened punitive measures against Ankara over its offshore activities but later froze those plans after Turkey withdrew a research vessel from contested waters.
Ankara has since been working to repair ties with the bloc and Athens.
After Turkey brought its Oruç Reis vessel back to port in November amid threats of EU sanctions, Ankara resumed direct talks with Athens after a five-year hiatus.
The two sides have held two rounds of talks since January, but have said no immediate results should be expected.