Turkey must be sent a clear message, says Dendias

The conclusions at the upcoming European Council on December 10 and 11 must give Turkey a clear signal that its behavior has moved beyond acceptable limits and is unacceptable, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias told the Bloomberg network on Friday, as the Turkish Oruc Reis research vessel made its closest passage yet through the Kastellorizo complex on Thursday night, coming within 7 nautical miles of the islet of Strongyli.

"Europe must show the limits of [Turkey's] behavior," said Dendias, warning that failure to take action could give Ankara the impression "it can continue its current behavior without any restriction."

The main thrust of his arguments in a series of interviews on Friday was that sometimes the European Union has allowed Turkey to come to the wrong conclusions. This, he stressed, is not good for Turkey, the EU, nor for peace and stability in the...