Turkey's course of action could have a cost, Greek Prime Minister Tsipras said Friday, a day after Ankara deployed its second drillship Yavuz to Cyprus for natural gas operations.
Speaking to reporters at the end of an EU summit, the prime minister also claimed that there was an increase in Turkey's so-called aggressive stance while.
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez on Thursday said at the launch of the vessel, Yavuz, it would operate in a borehole near Cyprus' Karpas Peninsula, and reach a depth of 3,300 metres (3,609 yards).
Turkey wants to see energy as an incentive for a political resolution on the island and peace in the wider Mediterranean basin rather than a catalyst for further tensions.
In 1974, following a coup aimed at Cyprus’ annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded.
The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one -- held with the participation of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the U.K. -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland.
