The move came after Turkey defied warnings from the European Union and the United States to stop its drilling activities off Cyprus. "The EU which has announced so-called measures ... is not harming us but itself," Erdogan told a televised press conference in the capital Ankara. "We are continuing right now the exploration activities and will continue to do so with the same determination," he said. The discovery of huge gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has triggered a race to tap the region's underwater resources and sparked a dispute between Turkey and Cyprus.
The move came after Turkey defied warnings from the European Union and the United States to stop its drilling activities off Cyprus. "The EU which has announced so-called measures ... is not harming us but itself," Erdogan told a televised press conference in the capital Ankara. "We are continuing right now the exploration activities and will continue to do so with the same determination," he said. The discovery of huge gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has triggered a race to tap the region's underwater resources and sparked a dispute between Turkey and Cyprus.