EU-Turkey Relations at Turning Point, EU Warns

The ongoing Turkey-Greece Mediterranean feud, which has threatened to turn into open hostility in recent weeks, escalated even further on Tuesday after the European Union’s top diplomat warned that relations between the EU and Ankara are at a “watershed moment in history.” According to a statement made by the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to the European Parliament, the “next days” will be crucial in determining whether the conflict is resolved or takes a turn for the ugly. Greece and Turkey have for decades been locked in a territorial and maritime dispute that has flared up in the past two months and dragged other countries, including France, the United Arab Emirates and even the United States into the mix. On Monday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not mince words in its reaction to the US’s actions in the region. Ankara warned that the recently signed memorandum of understanding and military pacts between the US and the pro-Greece Republic of Cyprus “will not serve peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean” and will “disrupt the balance … and increase the tension” in the area.