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A second Turkish drillship named Yavuz will begin drilling for oil and gas off the island of Cyprus next week, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez has said.

Turkey's second drillship, Yavuz, will begin drilling for oil and natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean within a week, Fatih Dönmez, Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, has told news agency Anadolu.

Yavuz is currently at the port of Mersin doing "final tests" and getting supplies, said Donmez.

With the new season approaching, opera and ballet-goers will watch performances that have not been staged for a long time on Turkish stages, Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister Özgül Özkan Yavuz has said.

The European Union will "closely monitor" Turkish drilling activities off the coast of Cyprus and "stands ready to respond appropriately," the European Council said in the draft conclusions of a summit in Brussels. 

Turkey sent a second drilling vessel, Yavuz, to east Mediterranean Sea on June 20 that will begin hydrocarbon explorations off the coast of the Cyprus Island in early July.     

Turkey will launch a second drilling vessel on Thursday that will begin natural gas operations near Cyprus at the beginning of July, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

With concerns rising about a possible "incident" in the Eastern Mediterranean or Aegean, Ankara appears to be stepping up its efforts to entrench its presence in the region.

The drillship Fatih is already in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and Turkish authorities have indicated that a second vessel, the Yavuz, will also be dispatched to the region in due course.

Highlighting Ankara's intentions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said Monday that the Yavuz vessel will be ready set sail to the area in July in order to begin drilling activities.
He added that the Yavuz is set join the Fatih drillship, which is currently illegally located in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

In what is seen as part of a concerted effort by Ankara to entrench its presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey issued a navigational telex Thursday reserving a sea area within its territorial waters north of Cyprus for drilling activities until mid-June.

The U.S. and Turkey need each other, despite having differences over a few issues, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran said on May 23.