Economic sanctions

Washington is expected to impose sanctions on Moscow as soon as next week

Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Mass rejected on Monday Greece's request to impose an arms embargo on Turkey amid the ongoing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Permanent representatives of the 27 member states of the European Union agreed on a six-month extension of economic sanctions against Russia, which expire on January 31, 2021, a source in the delegation of one of the European countries in the EU Council told TASS.

"Yes, the ambassadors have just agreed to extend the restrictive measures until July 31, 2021," the source said.

Turkey will not abandon its rights and interests in the eastern Mediterranean because of possible European Union sanctions or criticism, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.

With Ankara's stance seen as nothing but an effort to buy time with no real intention for a candid dialogue, Athens is expected to insist on a hard line in favor of sanctions during the upcoming European Council on December 10 and 11.

According to Athens, Ankara's behavior over the previous five days in particular leaves no room for optimism.

Ankara will take necessary steps in every field against the EU's Operation Irini over the illegal search of a Turkish-flagged vessel bound for Libya, Turkey's National Security Council said on Nov. 25. 

Ankara has once again prevented the European Union's naval mission enforcing the Libya arms embargo from checking a suspect freighter off the war-torn country's coast, Germany's Der Spiegel reports.

The United Nations Security Council overwhelmingly rejected a U.S. resolution to extend an Iranian arms embargo on Aug. 14, in a move with huge repercussions for the Iran nuclear deal.

Only two of the Council's 15 members voted in favor, highlighting the division between Washington and its European allies since President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord in May 2018.

EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell on Tuesday called for the strengthening of Operation Irini, the bloc's naval mission in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at enforcing the UN arms embargo on Libya.
"Operation Irini has hailed ships, since it was launched, on more than 130 occasions," Borrell said after a videoconference of EU defense ministers.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will hold a teleconference with the chairman of EU leaders Charles Michel on Thursday afternoon to discuss the EU's long term budget and the effectiveness of the EU's Operation Irini that aims to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya.