The Party of European Socialists (PES) calls on Turkey to respect the sovereign rights of all European Union (EU) Member States, including those of Cyprus. Recently, Ankara has challenged the Cypriot government?s decision to pursue an oil exploration within its exclusive economic zone, further complicating the difficult relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The European dimension of this situation is magnified as the Republic of Cyprus will take over the rotating EU presidency in July 2012.