Turkish oil exploration rankles Greeks

NICOSIA, Cyprus, July 19 (UPI) -- An oil exploration plan by Turkey increased tension created when Turkish jets violated Greek air space, officials told the news agency Kathimerini.

Turkey authorized its Turkish Petroleum Corp. July 17 to explore for oil off the coast of Cyprus. Greek officials did not react to the news but reports from Athens said the mood was tense in the Foreign and Defense ministries, partly because Turkish jets violated Greek air space in the Aegean and over Agathonisi earlier in the day.

Nicosia announced plans this year to prospect for oil off the island's coast.

The Turkish government issued a decree, published in the Turkish government gazette, that a Turkish vessel will embark on hydrocarbon exploration in four areas. One of those areas, in the eastern Mediterranean, northeast of Cyprus, may have been selected in reaction to Nicosia's prospecting plans, the news agency reported.