The Greek Foreign Ministry responded to a statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry regarding the new procedures for hydrocarbon exploration permits. Speaking to the press Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Konstantinos Koutras said that Turkey’s position on issuing new exploration permits for hydrocarbon deposits in the Cypriot EEZ was provocative, adding that Cyprus was a ‘sovereign state and exercises its sovereign rights stemming from international law’. ‘Turkey should abandon its threatening rhetoric’, Koutras underlined.