The European Union spoke out against Turkey's “illegal” drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus, AFP reported.

The EU leaders who gathered in Brussels said they “deplored that Turkey has not yet responded to the EU's repeated calls to cease such activities”.

According to AFP, this may increase the threat of sanctions against Ankara.

The EU did not rule out imposing sanctions against Ankara and said they would follow the developments attentively.

A day before Ankara sent a new ship to search for hydrocarbons off the coast of EU member Cyprus.