EU leaders summit to discuss Turkey, eastern Med

EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels on Oct. 1 for two days of discussions on tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and relations with Turkey.

European Council President Charles Michel on Sept. 29 sent a letter to EU leaders to outline the objectives of the summit.

He said the main focus of the meeting would be on relations with Turkey on recent tension in the Eastern Mediterranean, but also EU-China relations, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the situation in Belarus and the recent escalation in Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

Leaders will also discuss the novel coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the European economy. 

No sanctions on Belarus

Convening earlier this month to discuss international issues and Belarus, EU foreign ministers were unable to reach an agreement on sanctions on the country.

"Ministers discussed the sanctions issue and although there is a clear will to adopt those sanctions, it has not been possible to do that today because the required unanimity was not reached," the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting.

He said the sides could not agree during the meeting because the Greek Cypriot administration wanted on penalties on Belarus to be tied to sanctions against Turkey over a dispute on gas drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Multi-dimensional relations

In recent weeks, EU diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, underlined the importance of multi-dimensional relations between EU and Turkey.

The diplomats stressed the need to look at EU-Turkey relations from a "broader geopolitical perspective" despite demands by France, Greece and the Greek Cypriot...

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