Turkey Scoffs at EU Rebuke, Vows to Keep Drilling Off Cyprus

Turkey rebuffed a set of punitive measures by the European Union and vowed to go ahead with its energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean in a growing dispute with EU member Cyprus.

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to freeze most high-level contacts with Turkey and cut the flow of funds to the country, while holding back for now on sanctions that could target Turkish companies involved in offshore drilling in the region. The escalation came after Turkey started to take delivery of a Russian missile-defense system despite the threat of U.S. sanctions.