ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Thursday welcomed efforts and rhetoric by the European Union to advance a recent positive atmosphere between Ankara and the bloc, but rejected criticism over its operations in the east Mediterranean after heightened tensions in the region over a row with member state Greece. Earlier on Thursday, EU leaders made good on a 2016 promise to deepen trade ties with Turkey, but also warned of sanctions if Ankara restarts exploration over disputed hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean. The bloc also criticised Ankara over its record on rights and the rule of law. In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it hoped the conditionality of the steps the EU was willing to take and the postponement of their implementation to the bloc’s next summit in June would not cause the positive momentum to be lost, while accusing the EU of violating international law by calling Turkish operations in the eastern Mediterranean illegal.