European Union foreign ministers on Monday criticized Turkey for several reasons, including energy exploration in disputed Mediterranean waters and changing the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque.
For their first face-to-face meeting in months, the ministers were planning to discuss taking a tougher stand on Ankara though no immediate measures were expected.
“When I see now what is happening with Hagia Sophia, that is a blow," Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said. Hagia Sophia was originally built in Istanbul as a Christian cathedral, and the pope and others have expressed their sadness and criticism of the move by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, left, and Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zharieva, right, put on their face masks, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as they speak with Spain's Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez during an EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, July 13, 2020. European Union foreign ministers meet for the first time face-to-face since the pandemic lockdown and will assess their discuss their relations with China and Turkey. (Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via Ap)
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell was in Turkey last week where he also discussed Ankara’s disputes with Greece and Cyprus over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean region. Turkey has dispatched warship-escorted vessels to drill for gas in an area where Cyprus insists it has exclusive rights. The Turkish government has said it’s acting to protect its interests in the area’s natural resources and those of Turkish Cypriots.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that the movements in the Mediterranean were “a reason for worrying" for the 27-nation bloc, but insisted that human rights and democracy issues would also be taken up during the regular monthly meeting.
Borrell said that relations were “not especially good at that moment.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas puts on a face mask, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as he attends an EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, July 13, 2020. European Union foreign ministers meet for the first time face-to-face since the pandemic lockdown and will assess their discuss their relations with China and Turkey. (Stephanie Lecocq, Pool Photo via Ap)
Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn makes a statement to the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, July 13, 2020. European Union foreign ministers meet for the first time face-to-face since the pandemic lockdown and will assess their fraught relations with China and discuss the troubled relation with Turkey. (AP PhotoVirginia Mayo, Pool)
Lothar Wieler, left, President of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), and German Health Minister Jens Spahn, right, attend a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Monday, July 13, 2020. Spahn has warned citizens of carelessness in dealing with the Corona pandemic and urged them to comply with the protective measures. (Fabrizio BenschPool Photo via AP)