The Greek Ambassador in Ankara, Kyriakos Loukakis, has been summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry following the Greek suspension of peace talks over Cyprus.
The move came Wednesday after the Greek Cypriot administration suspended negotiations over the divided island after Turkey sent a warship to monitor oil and gas exploration off the coast of Cyprus.
Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades abandoned the talks with the Turkish Cypriot leadership Tuesday following reports that the Turkish corvette had been sent to monitor Greek Cypriot exploration.
The Turkish General Staff warned Monday that it was closely monitoring the drillship SAIPEM-10000, and Turkey warned the Greek Cypriot administration against unilateral moves to extract natural gas and oil without considering Turkish Cypriot views.
Anastasiades said the decision had been made after consulting with party leaders and the negotiator in the talks, Andreas Mavroyiannis.
Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras supported the decision to suspend the talks.
Dervis Eroğlu, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, was expected to meet with Anastasiades to move on to a new phase of negotiations on October 9.
The stalled negotiations on Cyprus were resuscitated in February as part of a new initiative to resolve the conflict with both sides' leaders issuing a joint declaration on the path towards reunification.
The island of Cyprus has remained divided into Greek and Turkish parts since a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by a Turkish peace mission to aid Turkish Cypriots in the north in 1974.
The Greek Cypriot administration is a member of the EU and is internationally recognized except by Turkey -- the only country which recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
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