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Thursday, 14 January 2021_Turkey has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean and rejects the maritime boundary claims of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration in the region.
Ankara says these claims are excessive and violate the sovereign rights of both Turkey and Turkish Cypriots. The EU decided on punitive measures against Turkey last year, after Ankara asserted its rights in the region by sending several drill ships to explore for energy on its continental shelf.
However the implementation of sanctions has been postponed until March, and Turkey says it is ready to get its relationship with the EU “back on track" in 2021. European diplomats have signaled the dispute between Turkey and Greece is of paramount importance and also, that progress has already been made.
Another issue high on the agenda for talks is Turkey’s EU membership bid. Negotiations began in 2005 but have since come to a standstill. Erdogan says Turkey's membership will be a good thing for the EU now Britain has left the bloc. In recent talks Turkey has been quick to remind the EU of its dependence on Ankara when it comes to preventing hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants from trying to cross into European nations.
Turkey says by taking initiatives in places like Syria and Libya it is contributing to the EU’s security considerably, and is calling on the bloc not to allow disputes with individual members like Greece and France to jeopardize that.
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