Turkey accused Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, France and the United Arab Emirates of seeking to form an “alliance of evil” on Tuesday, after they issued a joint declaration denouncing Ankara’s policies in the eastern Mediterranean and Libya. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said the five countries were pursuing “regional chaos and instability.”
The foreign ministers of the five countries held a teleconference on Monday to discuss the situation in the eastern Mediterranean – where Turkey has been drilling for potential hydrocarbon deposits in an offshore area where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights – as well as the situation in Libya.
The ministers denounced what they said was Turkey’s sixth attempt in less than a year to “illegally conduct drilling operations in Cyprus’ maritime zones,” AP reported.
Last year, Turkey also signed a contested maritime border delineation deal, as well as a military cooperation agreement with the internationally recognized government in Tripoli.