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21:55 GMT
ISTANBUL Oct 14 (KUNA) -- Turkey on Monday deplored the decisions approved by the European Union Foreign Affairs Council on the recent Turkish moves in northern Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean.
"We totally reject and condemn the decisions of the EU Foreign Affairs Council taken under the titles of North East Syria and Turkey's drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, and all the calls made on our country," Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry announced its determination to reconsider its cooperation with the EU due to its "biased and illegal" stance on Turkey's move in Syria.
The bloc has "no right to give lesson to our country" on the fight against terrorists, said the statement.
The Turkish military operation in Syria is being launched successfully based on the international law and in line with its legitimate right to defend itself according to the 51st Article of the UN Charter and the Security Council resolutions on combating terrorism, it noted.
The continued operation will help create a safe zone on the Turkish-Syrian borders and return the Syrian refugees to their homes, it stated.
It is unacceptable to characterize as "illegal" Turkey's research and drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean to protect both its rights and the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, the statement pointed out.
Earlier in the day, the EU Foreign Affairs Council issued a statement, which condemned Turkish military operation in Syria.
The council said that Turkey's security concerns in northeast Syria should be addressed though political and diplomatic means, not through military action. (end)
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