A stand-off over natural gas and oil reserves off the coast of Cyprus is set to intensify after Turkey announced they will be sending a drill ship to the site.

Turkish President Ecep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared he will not tolerate the prospect of the reserves being exploited by Greek Cypriots.

Turkey argues that the self- proclaimed Turkish Government republic of Northern Cyprus should have access to the resources as the gas and oil reserves are in Turkish Cypriot territory.

The island has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded in a response to a coup aimed at creating a union with Greece. Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts since the invasion, with the southern part being governed by the Republic of Cyprus and the northern part by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

However the international community considers the northern part of the island illegally occupied by Turkish forces. Last year talks to try and reunite the two feuding communities collapsed. 

It is believed that the gas and oil reserves off the coast of the Mediterranean island are significant enough to turn Cyprus into a gas producing hub.

Last month Turkey sent warships to deter Italian energy firm ENI from drilling. Four foreign companies have been licensed for gas and oil surveying in the area.

However President Erdoğan issued a warning to foreign companies when speaking to the Guardian. He said: “We recommend that foreign companies operating in Cypriot waters not trust the Greek [Cypriot] side and become a tool for business that exceeds their place and powers.

“The Greeks and Greek Cypriots would stop swaggering when they saw the Turkish military with its ships and warplanes approaching.”.

“Our approach is to keep calm and go on,” the Cypriot government spokesman, Prodromos Prodromou, told the Guardian. “We cannot accept Turkey interfering and creating problems in what, as underlined by the EU, is a sovereign right to exploit our natural wealth.”

“We are heading for a full-blown crisis in the eastern Mediterranean,” said Hubert Faustmann, professor of political science at the University of Nicosia when speaking to the Guardian.  “And that is because Turkey is determined not to allow exploitation of any resources without its consent and participation of Turkish Cypriots.”