ATHENS – France’s government reiterated support for Greece and Cyprus over Turkish provocations and drilling for oil and gas in the Aegean and East Mediterranean, with the French energy company Total already hunting for prospects off Cyprus’ coast.

Greece is anxious as well over a deal Turkey made with Libya dividing the seas between them and with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, apparently emboldened by the European Union not getting tough with over Cyprus, saying Turkish ships would also drill off Crete – where the US Navy has a base on Souda Bay.

With the tension rising over breast-beating and bellicose talk from Turkey, even to the point of bringing fears of a military conflict, French Defence Minister Florence Parly repeated his country’s support for Greece and Cyprus the newspaper To Vima in an interview.

“France intends to stand by Greece and help it to confront multiple tensions in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean,” Parly said, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron made that clear when he met Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paris.

A Greek navy frigate is escorting France’s aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle in its operations in the Mediterranean, with the French vessel off the Cyprus major port of Limassol with Turkey not recognizing part of the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ.)

“France supports Greece and Cyprus on the issue of respecting their sovereignty in maritime zones and condemns, together with its European partners, Turkey’s lack of respect of these fundamental rules,” Parly told the paper, said Reuters.