Cyprus has “strongly condemned” Turkey for conducting exploration drills within its territorial waters while Brussels said it would act accordingly in support of Nicosia.
"This provocative action by Turkey constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus according to International and European Union Law," a Cyprus Foreign Ministry statement said.
It said the United Nations had only recently underlined the need “to avoid actions that damage the chances of success” for resuming peace talks which remain stalled after a summit failure in Switzerland two years ago.
“Fully aware of Turkey’s intentions, the Republic of Cyprus has taken all necessary measures to address the situation, in its capacity as a Member State of the European Union and the United Nations,” said the ministry.
It said the European Council last year called on Turkey to “respect International Law and good neighbourly relations and normalize relations with all EU Member States including the Republic of Cyprus”.
Turkey does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus and is the only country to recognise a Turkish Cypriot administration in the Turkish-held north of the island.
Brussels on Saturday also backed fellow member Cyprus EU High Representative Federica Mogherini calling Turkey to show restraint in the island’s exclusive economic zone.
“We express grave concern over Turkey's announced intention to carry out drilling activities within the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus,” said a statement from Mogherini.
“We urgently call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus…refrain from any such illegal action to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus,” it added.
Nicosia has gone ahead with expanding its energy search at a time when Ankara is opposed to it while there is no political solution for Cyprus.
Turkey also claims it has rights to energy exploration off the coast of the divided island and has warned foreign energy companies not to "overstep the mark" in disputed waters.
Last year Turkish warship prevented an Italian ENI drillship from conducting energy explorations off Cyprus in a licensed block.
Texas-based Noble Energy in 2011 made the first discovery off Cyprus in the Aphrodite block estimated to contain around 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas – it has yet to be commercialised.
The discovery of nearby Egypt’s huge Zohr offshore reservoir in 2015 has stoked interest that Cypriot waters hold the same riches.
Cyprus aims for natural gas to start flowing to Egypt’s LNG facility in 2024/25, therefore generating its first revenue from natural gas in the same year.
In February, ExxonMobil discovered the largest gas reservoir off the Cyprus coast with an estimated 5 trillion to 8 trillion cubic feet in gas resources (tcf).
Brussels is keen to back the island’s hydrocarbons search as it could mean a future supply line of secure energy while lessening dependence on Russian gas.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third in response to a Greek-engineered coup in Nicosia to unite the island with Greece.
