The European Union warned Turkey on Friday to rein in its navy after Turkish warships threatened and blocked a rig from reaching a site southeast of Cyprus where it was to drill for natural gas. EU leaders said they could abandon a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next month and expressed solidarity with Cyprus and Greece. But he said Turkish warships "threatened to use force," got in the rig's way and stepped up their threats the closer the rig came to the drilling site, forcing it to stop. EU Council President Donald Tusk, speaking Friday in Brussels after chairing a summit of EU leaders, said they "urgently call on Turkey to terminate these activities." Lakkotrypis called the incident a setback, but said Turkey won't stop Cyprus' offshore gas search.

Source: ABC News February 23, 2018 20:03 UTC