Turkey warned Lebanon and Egypt on Tuesday not to press ahead with oil and gas exploration deals they have signed with Cyprus, saying Turkey and Turkish Cypriots also had rights in the region.

Turkey was "determined to protect its rights and interests in the eastern Mediterranean and will not allow attempts to erode them," the Foreign Ministry of Turkey warned in a statement.

Lebanon and Cyprus on Jan. 17 signed an agreement for the demarcation of an undersea border to facilitate future oil and gas exploration between the two Mediterranean countries...continue reading