Greek PM seeks Turkey condemnation by EU leaders

ATHENS, Greece – Greece is urging European Union leaders to condemn Turkey over its actions in a natural gas drilling dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In a statement Tuesday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said EU leaders should “unambiguously condemn the illegal actions of Turkey” when they attended a European Council meeting in Brussels on June 20 and 21. He conveyed the message in a phone call with European Council President Donald Tusk.

Turkey has sent a drilling vessel off the coast of divided Cyprus, maintaining that it is defending the interests of the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriots. But the island’s internationally recognized and Greek-Cypriot-led government says the action is illegal.