Erdoğan says Turkey restarted drilling in eastern Mediterranean
"We have resumed the drilling activity. We have sent (vessel) Barbaros Hayrettin to the area," Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters after Friday prayers at Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia mosque. The Turkish leader also accused neighbouring Greece of failing to keep its promises as speaking to media outlets.
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 02:58 | 07 August 2020
- Modified Date: 05:38 | 07 August 2020
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday that Turkey had resumed drilling operations in the eastern Mediterranean as Greece had not kept its promises regarding energy exploration in the region.
NATO allies Turkey and Greece have long been at loggerheads over overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources and tensions have flared up between them again.
Erdoğan was speaking to reporters after Friday prayers at the Hagia Sophia mosque.
He said Turkey's Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa, a seismic survey vessel, had been sent to the region to carry out its duties. The ship moved into waters off Cyprus in late July and remains in that region.