EU threatens Turkey; imposes sanctions on Belarus

Ursula von der Leyen indicated during a press conference after the first day of the European summit, that the relationship with Turkey will not succeed unless the provocations and pressure stop.

The work of the European summit continued until after midnight Thursday / Friday, and the summit for December set a horizon for reviewing various approaches to Turkey.

The leaders of the Union had agreed at the summit that Ankara must withdraw its ships from the waters of Cyprus, similar to its withdrawal from the waters of Greece, and if it did not, the sanctions option would be the only one available.

The President of the European Commission expected that Turkey would refrain from unilateral measures from now on.

The dispute between Turkey and several European countries has intensified since last August 10, against the background of Turkey's exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

In a relevant concern, Charles Michel, President of the European Council, stressed during the press conference that they support the resumption of the path to  resolving the split Cyprus crisis under the supervision of the United Nations.

Sanctions on Belarus

Meanwhile, Charles Michel said: "We decided to hold an exceptional summit immediately after the presidential elections in Belarus in August in order to develop a unified approach and express a common position on the situation in Belarus."

He added, "Today we decided to implement the sanctions that we decided. It is very important to do what we decided within weeks. We will impose sanctions on Belarus. We have drawn up a list of sanctions against 40 persons and entities in Belarus."

Michel noted that this list does not include the name of the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, but that may change.

Immediate ceasefire in Artsakh / Karabakh

Regarding the situation in Artsakh / Karabakh, European Council President Charles Michel called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to negotiations, expressing his hope that Turkey will play a more positive role in calming the conflict.

The Artsakh / Karabakh region, which has a population of 100,000 people, the majority of whom are Armenians, has witnessed since last Sunday a raging conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Condemnation of poisoning Navalny

On the issue of poisoning the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, Michel said: "As for the issue of the attempt to assassinate the opposition leader Navalny, we have heard the words of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and his transfer to Germany for treatment. We condemn the use of chemical weapons that contradict the principle of international law."

He added, "We support a transparent investigation and we will return to this issue at the next European Union summit."

Earlier, the Russian opposition figure, Navalny, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind his poisoning.

J.O