ANKARA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkey on Tuesday said it will continue the planned drillings in the Eastern Mediterranean upon a deal made with Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
"The new licensed areas that the Turkish Petroleum applied for, regarding the exploration and drilling activities, lie within the Turkish continental shelf as declared to the UN. Turkey will be resolutely continuing to exercise its sovereign rights over the area that we repeatedly announced," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said in a written statement.
On Monday, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said that Turkish plans on drilling for hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean were part of its attempts "to usurp the sovereign rights of Greece."
Greece was prepared to face this new "provocation if Turkey finally puts it into effect," the minister stated.
Turkish energy minister Fatih Donmez on Friday said Turkey would start oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean in three or four months under a deal it signed with Libya.
In 2019, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for maritime delimitation with Libya's GNA. Enditem
