Cyprus says Turkey flouts international law with drill

Cyprus on Friday accused Turkey of violating international law by launching operations off the island in search of oil and gas, Reuters reported.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish vice president Fuat Oktay was quoted as saying the drilling ship Fatih had started operations off the north-north-east coast of Cyprus. On Monday, the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted a framework for restrictive measures against Turkey over its drilling activities around Cyprus.

"The fact that these new illegal actions of Turkey were announced on the same day that a new framework of EU sanctions took effect - is a display of extreme and provocative contempt towards international and European law," the Cypriot presidency said in a statement, quoted by the source.