Turkey warned energy companies not to cooperate with the Cypriot government in exploration drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, because such activities would affect stability in the region.

"The tension between Turkey and Cyprus for raw materials in the eastern Mediterranean is escalating," the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) observes in a report from Turkey, referring to the "arrival of ExxonMobile's Stena Icemax drilling machine at plot 10, 150 km southwest of the divided island."

The promotion of partnerships in the eastern Mediterranean and the preparation of Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias' visit to Washington in December were the key issues of a meeting between Kotzias and US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Wess Mitchell.