Mubasher: The prime minister of Greece on Thursday said that his country will not tolerate any challenges to its territorial integrity.

This comes days after Turkish and Greek coastguard vessels collided close to disputed islets in the Aegean Sea, as reported by Reuters.

“Our message, now, tomorrow and always, is clear ... Greece will not allow, accept or tolerate any challenge to its territorial integrity and its sovereign rights,” the news agency quoted Alexis Tsipras as saying.

“Turkey is provoking and violating Greek and European Union (EU) waters, it proceeds with acts that violate any notion of maritime law and is coming close to an accident in the Aegean. It has full responsibility,” he stated.

“Challenges and aggressive rhetoric against the sovereign rights of an EU member state are against the EU in its entirety,” the PM added.

Turkey is also in a rising dispute with Cyprus after Turkish navy blocked a rig belonging to the Italian energy firm ENI near the Cypriot shores off the Mediterranean Sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently warned Greece and Cyprus not to explore oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean.

The president of the European Council Donald Tusk asked the Turkish government to avoid threats or actions against any EU member and instead commit to good neighbourly relations, peaceful dispute settlement, and respect for territorial sovereignty.