(Bloomberg) -- Turkey warned Cyprus against unilaterally signing energy exploration deals in disputed Mediterranean waters, and pledged to prevent international companies from producing oil or gas in what it considers to be its own continental shelf.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said its warning was in response to reports that Greek Cypriots signed an agreement with Total SA and Eni SpA for a hydrocarbon exploration in Block 7, an area off Cyprus's southern coast.
Read more for Cyprus Deal with Total and Eni
Cyprus has been divided ever since Turkey seized the northern third of the island in 1974, in the wake of a coup aimed at uniting it with Greece.
Both Turkey and the breakaway state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus accuse the internationally-recognized government of the Republic of Cyprus of unilaterally conducting hydrocarbon exploration without taking into consideration Turkish Cypriot interests.
Cyprus says any revenue from oil and gas reserves will be used for the benefit of all Cypriots.
To contact the reporter on this story: Onur Ant in Istanbul at oant@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Constantine Courcoulas, Paul Abelsky
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