Attempt by Greece, Cyprus for solid response to Turkey is resisted

Greece and Cyprus met intense resistance to their attempts to formulate a solid response to Ankara over its repeated provocations in recent months at Thursday's European Union summit in Brussels.

Until late Thursday night, the front formed by Berlin, Rome and Madrid insisted on the postponement of any serious decisions on the matter - basically until US President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in. All they would acquiesce to was an increase in the number of Turkish officials to face sanctions - in addition to the two individuals in February - for Turkish drilling activities in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and a somewhat vague hint that the scope of these sanctions could be expanded at a later phase. The position of Greece and Cyprus was also weakened by what appeared to be France's unwillingness to insist on more substantial measures.

The second draft of the summit...