With two in place and two more reportedly set to join them, Turkey said it has no plans to send additional energy research vessels into Cypriot sovereign waters to look for gas as tensions remain taut after soft European Union sanctions were announced.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made the announcement as two Turkish ships continued drilling in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ,) parts of which Turkey doesn’t recognize and as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to defy the EU, United States and Greece, a co-guarantor of security for the island.

In an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber, Cavusoglu said Turkey was ready for cooperation to reach a solution to the dispute over energy resources in the region, ideas suggested by both Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci – rejected by Cyprus – and also by Greece in a bid to defuse the ratcheting anxiety.