Turkey angry as Cyprus begins oil and gas drilling

Source: B92, BBC, euronews

LIMASSOL, ANKARA -- Cyprus is "risking escalating tensions with Turkey" as it begun exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the BBC reported.

Workers prepare to leave for the offshore rig (Beta/AP)

Turkish PM Recep Erdogan said his country would "very soon" start drilling for gas off the Cyprus coast, and that the Turkish military would monitor the eastern Mediterranean with aircraft, frigates and torpedo boats.

"This exclusive economic zone is disputed and we have told them that it is not right for them to take such a step in this area," he said.

The offshore oil and gas rig belongs to Houston-based Noble Energy Inc., which the Cypriot government licensed to begin exploratory drilling some 185 kilometers south of the island coast.

An Israeli firm has an option to join the U.S. company, reports euronews, and adds that this "could exacerbate already heightened tensions".

The European Commission has urged both sides to exercise restraint over the issue and seek ways of resolving their long-standing dispute over northern Cyprus.

Ankara argues that until the ongoing talks to reunite the island succeed, no government has the right to negotiate over Cyprus's territorial waters, the BBC reported, but added that the Cypriot government is fully recognized by both the United Nations and the European Union.