Erdogan rejects EU 'warnings' on exploration off Cyprus coast
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today rejected the European Union's "warnings" regarding Turkey's exploration off the coast of Cyprus.
On Monday, the EU passed a new phase in imposing sanctions on Turkey for its "illegal exploration" and formally adopted a legal framework to target the people concerned.
"You have no interest in issuing warnings to Turkey regarding our relations with Cyprus," Erdogan said at a press conference in Ankara.
Erdogan said Turkey is home to about four million refugees, mostof them Syrians, and that it could open the doors for them to head to Europe.
He also said that Turkey would continue to deport foreign ISIS jihadists in its custody to their European countries.
The discovery of oil reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has sparked a dispute between EU member Cyprus and Turkey, which has occupied the northern part of the island since 1974.