- Title: US's Pompeo to Turkey: "illegal drilling is unacceptable"
- Date: 5th October 2019
- Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (OCTOBER 5, 2019) (AGENCY POOL) (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MIKE POMPEO, SAYING: "We've made clear that operations in international waters are governed by a set of rules. We've told the Turks that illegal drilling is unacceptable and will continue to take diplomatic action to make sure that we do as we do always, ensure that the lawful activity takes place in every space where international law governs."
- Embargoed: 19th October 2019 12:39
- Keywords: Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias Greece US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Dilovasi Port Ukraine Turkey ship politics North Korea
- Location: ATHENS, GREECE / DILOVASI, TURKEY
- City: ATHENS, GREECE / DILOVASI, TURKEY
- Country: Greece
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA003AZTKJEV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The United States wants to ensure that rules govern exploration of energy sources in the Mediterranean Sea, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Athens on Saturday (October 5), adding that Turkey's illegal drilling in the region is unacceptable.
"We want to make sure that rules govern international exploration in the Mediterranean Sea's energy resources and that no country can hold Europe hostage," Pompeo said.
"We have told the Turks that illegal drilling is unacceptable and we'll continue to take diplomatic actions to make sure that we do, as we do always, ensure that lawful activity takes place," Pompeo said.
Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged the United States to use its influence to defuse tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Cyprus and Turkey are locked in a dispute over offshore rights.
During the news conference Pompeo also said the U.S. State Department had issued an initial response to a Congressional request for documents as part of an impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump.
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are examining whether there are grounds to impeach Republican President Donald Trump based on a whistleblower's account that said he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July 25 phone call to help investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden.
He also touched on U.S. -North Korean talks taking place in Sweden, adding that it was too early to know if there had been any progress.
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