President Sassoli said:

“This morning, I had a frank exchange with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. I reiterated the EU’s strong condemnation of the Turkish military intervention in northeast Syria. This is a grave violation of international law, which undermines stability and security in the region.

“I also raised the issue of Turkey’s continued illegal drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean. We stand in full solidarity with Cyprus, regarding the respect of its sovereignty and sovereign rights in accordance with international law.

“I stressed that the European Parliament continues to pay the utmost attention to addressing the ongoing humanitarian and refugee crisis. This includes full support for those Member States that face the most serious challenges in terms of migratory flows in the Eastern Mediterranean. I also made clear that it is completely unacceptable to use people fleeing war and persecution for political gain or to pressure the EU.

“We both agreed that dialogue is essential to address the many challenges we have in common, such as migration and the fight against terrorism.”