German newspaper Bild accuses Recep Tayyip Erdogan of deceiving in Berlin in a report published on its website.

“The dispute over gas-powered ships overshadows the EU summit – Erdogan duping Germany,” the headline read.

“In fact, Germany wanted to play for time to de-escalate the dispute between Turkey and Greece over gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean”, the piece read, adding that the prospect of any sanctions against Turkey would not be an issue at the EU Summit on Thursday and Friday.

The article notes, however, that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to raise the issue in Brussels, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suddenly sent a gas search ship to disputed sea areas, thus re-igniting the controversy.

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Already, the Turkish stance has been criticized by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who visited Greece and Cyprus on Tuesday and said he was “extremely annoyed” by Ankara’s moves.

According to the report, for weeks, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Maas called for de-escalation by both sides and supported a more mild approach to Turkey on the basis of the carrot and the whip, which was decided by the EU Council two weeks ago.