Turkey called on Sunday for the European Union to end what it said was the bloc’s prejudice against Turkish Cypriots, defending its launch of a fresh round of hydrocarbons drilling off the Mediterranean island. Turkey began drilling for oil and gas near Cyprus last year despite warnings from the EU, stoking tensions with neighboring members Greece and Cyprus. In the latest move, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez on Friday told the state-owned Anadolu news agency that Turkey’s Yavuz drilling ship was setting off for Cyprus, prompting cautionary EU comments. “The EU has remained silent since 2003 to the usurping of our country’s and the Turkish Cypriots’ rights in the eastern Mediterranean,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said […]