Turkey intends to give diplomacy as much a chance as possible and resolve issues through dialogue in a way that benefits all parties, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday in response to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
Macron previously called on Turkey to reopen a "responsible dialogue" on the Eastern Mediterranean, not long after his threats for sanctions and call on the European Union to stand united against Ankara.
In a series of Tweets, Erdoğan said that Turkey would pay no regard to persistent provocations, stating that Turkey carries out these processes in a determined and mature manner.
"With this vision, we will continue to defend every last drop of our water and every last piece of our land to the very end."
Turkey on Friday accused Macron of adding fuel to the fire in the Eastern Mediterranean and making it harder to solve problems.
Tensions have recently escalated over the issue of energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Greece has disputed Turkey's energy exploration in the region, trying to box in Turkish maritime territory based on small islands near the Turkish coast.
Turkey – the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean – has sent out drillships, with a military escort, to explore for energy on its continental shelf, saying that both Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have rights in the region.
To reduce tensions, Turkey has called for dialogue to ensure the fair sharing of the region's resources.
Meanwhile, Turkish and Greek military delegations have held technical meetings at NATO headquarters in Brussels to discuss ways to reduce the risk of an incident amid rising tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.
