Cyprus to block Turkey's EU entry bid over gas row

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus says it will block any progress in Turkey's ongoing talks to join the European Union in response to a Turkish gas search in waters where the EU member has already licensed companies to drill.

Cyprus government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides says President Nicos Anastasiades will also lodge a formal complaint against Turkey at an EU leader's meeting later this week.

Cyprus was split along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of a union with Greece. Turkey doesn't recognize Cyprus as a state and opposes its offshore energy search.

Anastasiades suspended reunification talks earlier this month after Turkey announced its gas search plans.

The additional measures come after a warship-escorted Turkish research vessel sailed into waters off the island's south coast.