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| - EU countries on Monday agreed to step up efforts to calm raging tensions with Turkey through dialogue -- while also lining up fresh punitive measures should Ankara not respond. Turkey was top of the agenda as the EU's 27 foreign ministers met in Brussels for talks for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic erupted. The European nations are angry at Ankara over a host of issues from its domestic rights record to its drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus and its intervention in the Libya conflict. The ministers also condemned the decision by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government to turn Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. After the meeting EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said the ministers had asked him to "explore further paths that could contribute to lowering tensions and reach understandings on issues that are increasingly stressing the relationship". "Also I will prepare options on further appropriate measures that could be taken in response to the challenges we are facing as a result of Turkish actions including in the eastern Mediterranean," Borrell said. France has been particularly incensed about fellow NATO member Turkey's military support of the Tripoli government, suspecting Ankara of breaching a UN arms embargo on restive Libya. Borrell, who travelled to Ankara for talks with Turkish ministers last week, has stressed the need to defuse tensions through dialogue, despite pressure from some EU countries to take tougher action such as sanctions. Since 2016 the EU has relied on Turkey to stem the flow of migrants trying to reach Europe from the Middle East, Asia and Africa -- a fact Ankara has not shied away from leveraging. Despite the challenges, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Turkey remained of "strategic importance" to the EU and it was crucial to maintain dialogue. "But we have also made it clear that we expect that there are positive signals from Turkey where it affects the interests of member states of the European Union, for example with regard to the Mediterranean drilling," he said. But anger is running high among some EU countries, with Luxembourg's veteran Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn slamming the Hagia Sophia move as a "strike against civilisation" and warning Ankara's actions against rights defenders suggested it "despises democracy and despises its own people". Alexander Schallenberg, the foreign minister of Austria -- which frequently takes a tough line on Turkey -- called the Hagia Sophia change "the latest link in a chain of provocations" and said Ankara was "simply not a reliable partner for Europe". Ministers also discussed Beijing's new security law for Hong Kong, agreeing to work on a coordinated response and look at making it easier for Hong Kongers to come to Europe. pdw/dl
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