East Mediterranean Dispute: Cyprus Willing to Talk with Turkey 'Without Threats'

Cyprus is ready to engage in talks with Turkey to resolve differences but only "without blackmail and threats", President Nicos Anastasiades said on Wednesday.

The two countries are locked in a dispute over drilling rights in the Mediterranean, and Turkey said on Tuesday it had extended a drilling vessel's operations in disputed waters off Cyprus until Oct. 12.

"Nicosia has been always ready for a dialogue but for that ... to be effective, it needs to be clearly defined based on international law, without blackmails or threats," Anastasiades said after talks in Nicosia with European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs EU summits.

Anastasiades said Turkey's move to extend the Yavuz drilling ship's operations came at a time when the European Union, of which Cyprus is a member state, was taking a series of initiatives to try to reduce tensions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday nothing could justify intimidation of Greece and Cyprus by Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.

EU leaders will look for a way to defuse tensions in the eastern Mediterranean when they hold a summit on Sept. 24-25.

"In view of the EU Council meeting next week, we underscored the importance of staying united on the messages (to Turkey) and determined to implement our decisions if the illicit actions continue," Anastasiades said.

Cyprus' internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has long been at loggerheads with Turkey, which began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year.

The island was split after a 1974 Turkish invasion spurred by a brief coup engineered by the military then ruling Greece. A breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in north Cyprus is recognized only by Ankara. 

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou and Renee Maltezou; Writing by George Georgiopoulos, Editing by Timothy Heritage)