Military ships and helicopters take part in the "Blue Homeland 2019" naval military exercise in Izmir, Turkey, March 5, 2019. The largest ever drill conducted by the Turkish Navy is seen by analysts as a sign of both Ankara's determination to protect its territorial and gas exploration rights in the Mediterranean Sea and the rebound of the navy from the fallout of a failed coup in 2016. (Xinhua)

Greece on Monday attacked Turkey's plan to carry out oil drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, describing it as "a new provocation."

It is the latest in a series of rows that has caused tensions to rise between the two neighboring countries in recent months. 

Turkey announced on Friday that it plans to start drilling for hydrocarbons in the eastern Mediterranean in three or four months.

The move comes after Ankara signed a controversial agreement in 2019 with Libya's UN-recognized government in Tripoli, which claimed extensive areas of the sea for Turkey. 

The agreement has raised hackles in neighboring countries, including Greece which has said the deal fails to take into account the island of Crete.

EU member Cyprus has also expressed anger that Turkey has sent ships in search of oil and gas off the divided island. 

The EU has repeatedly called on Turkey to end its exploration off the coast of Cyprus, arguing that the drilling is illegal because it infringes the island's exclusive economic zone.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said in a statement on Monday that the Turkish request to carry out petroleum explorations in the region of the Greek continental shelf is part of a series of actions by the neighboring country which is gradually trying to usurp the sovereign rights of Greece.

AFP