Turkey to issue Mediterranean exploration licences, raising tensions with Greece

Turkey will issue gas exploration and drilling licences in the eastern Mediterranean, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, further raising tensions with Greece which said it would seek an emergency EU meeting to address the issue.

The two NATO allies vehemently disagree about their overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterranean, based on conflicting views of how far their continental shelves extend in waters dotted with islands.

On Monday Turkey sent an exploration vessel into a disputed area, ending a brief period of calm brokered by Germany. Ankara said a maritime deal Greece signed with Egypt last week showed it could not trust Athens, and vowed to continue surveying waters that are also claimed by Greece and Cyprus.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey's Oruc Reis exploration vessel would continue its work, which Greece...