Turkey's resumed search for oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean is "extremely worrying", the EU said Sunday after Greece and Egypt set up an exclusive economic zone in the region.

"Latest naval mobilisations in eastern Mediterranean... will lead to a greater antagonism and distrust," foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, calling the development "extremely worrying".

"Maritime boundaries must be defined through dialogue and negotiations, not through unilateral actions and mobilisation of naval forces," Borrell said in a statement.

The discovery of vast gas reserves in the region in recent years has sparked a prospecting scramble by Greece, Turkey and Egypt as well as Cyprus and Israel.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Ankara's resumption of operations on Friday, accusing arch-foe Greece of failing to keep its promises.

His comments came a day after Athens and Cairo signed an agreement to set up an exclusive economic zone in the region.

On Sunday, Borrell said "disputes must be solved in accordance with international law," adding that Brussels was "committed to help solving such disputes and disagreements in this area of vital security interest".

He added: "The present course of action will not serve the interests either of the European Union, or of Turkey. We have to work together for the security in the Mediterranean."

The deal between Greece and Egypt aimed to establish maritime boundaries between the two countries and appeared to be a direct response to a similar accord reached last November between Turkey and the UN-recognised government in Libya.

The agreement considerably enlarged Turkey's maritime territory and drew accusations from several countries, led by Greece, that Ankara was trying to assert its dominance in the region.

Related Links
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Oil giant BP plunges into $16.8-bn quarterly loss
London (AFP) Aug 4, 2020
BP plunged into a quarterly net loss of almost $16.85 billion as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged oil demand and prices, triggering huge asset writedowns, the British energy giant announced Tuesday. The company responded by cutting its dividend for the first time since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in 2010 that damaged BP's finances and reputation. "The ongoing severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to create a volatile and challenging trading environment," BP said in Tuesday' ... read more