The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a new provocative statement on Tuesday regarding the country’s intentions to conduct seismic surveys and drilling in what it says is within the Turkish continental shelf.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hami Aksoy responded to a question during the daily press briefing saying Turkey was fully committed to protecting what he deemed the Turkish and Cypriot-Turkish rights in the region.

The statement came hours after Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias complained on Monday that Turkey was trying to usurp Greek sovereignty.

As the Turkish statement said: “The new license 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.

We are fully committed to protecting both our rights and Turkish Cypriots’ rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this regard, our seismic exploration and drilling activities are being carried out according to the previously adopted plan.”

Seven requests by the state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) were published in the Turkish government gazette for seismic surveys southeast of Crete and east and southeast of Rhodes.

This development sparked a series of meetings by Greek government officials at the Maximos Hall in an effort to coordinate its line of defence against the escalating Turkish provocations.

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