(ANSA-AFP) - PORTICCIO, 11 SET - Leaders of seven European countries on the Mediterranean said on Thursday they were ready to back EU sanctions against Turkey if Ankara shunned dialogue on escalating tensions in the sea. French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the leaders of six other EU states, including Turkey's regional rival Greece, for a summit in Corsica in the hope of finding common ground ahead of the next EU summit this month. Showing again his anger against Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Macron said before the summit that the NATO ally was no longer a partner in the eastern Mediterranean, and that its people "deserved something" different to the way the government currently behaved. France has strongly backed Greece and Cyprus in a growing standoff with Turkey over hydrocarbon resources and naval influence in the eastern Mediterranean, which has sparked fears of more severe conflict.

After talks with the leaders of Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Cyprus in the resort of Porticcio outside the local capital Ajaccio, Macron adopted a slightly milder tone, saying the leaders wanted to reengage in a dialogue with Turkey "in good faith". But the final statement of the leaders made clear that sanctions were on the table if Turkey failed to end its "confrontational actions". (ANSA-AFP).