The European Union on Monday warned Turkey against threatening Cyprus over the latter's oil exploration drilling in disputed waters of the Mediterranean island republic.

EU Foreign Affairs policy chief Catherine Ashton made the warning in response to Turkey's announcement that it will conduct its own drilling and increase naval presence in the same area of northern Cyprus if the Greek Cyprus government will continue with the offshore gas drilling.

"We urge Turkey to refrain from any kind of threat or sources of friction or action which could negatively affect the good neighbourly relations and the peaceful settlement of border disputes," Cyprusweekly.com quoted Ashton as saying.

Nicosia and Texas-based Noble Energy started the drilling on Sunday in an offshore area called Aphrodite in defiance of an earlier warning by Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

Yildiz has warned that Turkey will start its own gas and oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean if Nicosia will proceed with the Aphrodite exploration.

"If Greek Cyprus sticks to the timetable it announced previously, we will start drilling activity next week," Yildiz told reporters, according to Deutsche Welles.

The Turkish minister also called the drilling a provocation that could damage reunification talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Cyprus, an EU member, is de facto partitioned into the southern area controlled by Greek Cypriots and the northern part under Turkish Cypriots.