Turkey said that it decided to extend the period of surveying operations conducted by its ship "Oruj Reis" in the eastern Mediterranean until the fourth of next November.
The European Union had threatened Ankara with sanctions if it continued exploration operations in the disputed area with Greece.
A notification issued by the Turkish Navy late yesterday, Saturday, indicated that "Aruj Reis" in addition to the support ships "Ataman" and "Genghis Khan" will continue working in an area to the south of the Greek island of Rhodes until the fourth of next month, in search of natural resources. , In reference to oil and natural gas.
A previous notification to the Turkish Navy had stated that the survey work in the area would continue until 27 October.
Escalation of tension
The European Union believes that Turkey's continued surveying operations would exacerbate the tension in the relations between the two parties, and Athena says that these operations are taking place in its maritime areas, while Ankara insists that it conducts marine exploration within its own continental shelf.
The dispute erupted between Greece and Turkey last August after Ankara sent the "Aruj Reis" ship to waters that Greece and Cyprus claim entitlement to. Ankara withdrew the ship last month to conduct maintenance, in order to make way for diplomacy before an EU summit during which Cyprus sought To impose sanctions on Turkey, but Ankara has returned the ship this month, leading to an angry reaction from Greece, France and Germany.
The Anadolu Agency stated that the "Aruj Reis" ship is one of the rare research ships in the world. It is fully equipped and multi-purpose, so that it can conduct two-dimensional and three-dimensional geophysical seismic and magnetic surveys. It can also perform three-dimensional seismic surveys up to a depth of 8 thousand meters, and survey operations. Two-dimensional seismicity up to a depth of 15 thousand meters.
Turkey has sent a number of ships to explore for oil and gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean regions that Cyprus says are under its sovereignty, which Ankara rejects.