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France, Italy, Greece and Cyprus are staging a massive maritime exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, in an apparent veiled nod to Turkey, which recently began researching oil and gas deposits in the area, raising ire in Athens.

Codenamed 'Eunomia', the aeronautical exercises launched on Wednesday off the southern shores of Cyprus, the host nation of the war games. Athens' defense minister announced the start of the drills earlier in the day, saying they are to reinforce "the rule of law as part of the policy of de-escalating tensions."

France, in turn, also confirmed the news, having dispatched its 'Lafayette' frigate, as well as three Rafale fighter jets. Italian and Cypriot vessels were also said to have joined the exercise in the eastern part of the Mediterranean.

A day prior, separate drills kicked off near the Greek island of Crete, this time involving Hellenic and US armed forces.

The string of military exercises appears to be upping the ante in the festering feud between Greece and Turkey. Formally allies within NATO, the two nations have been at loggerheads over a number of issues, from historical discords to overlapping territorial claims in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Tensions recently flared up when a trove of gas and oil was discovered in the contentious waters. This week, Ankara announced that its Oruc Reis research vessel will carry on navigating the disputed waters between Cyprus and Crete. The news has caused outrage in Greece which views the research activities as unlawful and considers them an affront to its sovereignty.

Perhaps pouring more petrol into the flaming spat with Greece, the Turkish president ruled out making any concessions to Athens on the oil and gas discoveries in the contentious Mediterranean waters.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan picked a rather symbolic occasion to make the claims. He was speaking at a ceremony to commemorate a military victory by Seljuk Turks over the Byzantine Empire at the town of Malazgirt in the 11th century.

Turkey will take "whatever it is entitled to in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black seas, we will not make any concessions," Erdogan said on Wednesday.

The bulk of his fiery speech was devoted to Greece, which strongly objects to Turkey's research drilling in the contested Mediterranean waters. Saying the modern-day Greeks are "unworthy of the Byzantine legacy," Erdogan proceeded to veiled threats.

If it [Greece] wants to pay a price, let them come and face us. If they don't have the courage for it, they should stand out of our way.

[...]

Turkey has prolonged an oil exploration mission of the Oruc Reis survey ship in the same area, reinforcing it with several warships.

Meanwhile on the diplomatic front, Athens signaled that it's open to talks with Ankara, but not under "military pressure." Germany, which has assumed the role of mediator in the spat, likened it to "playing with fire," and has liaised with Turkey and Greece in previous days.

Both sides appear to be ready to talk, according to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who toured both capitals. "No one wants to settle this conflict militarily, which would be absolute madness," he said on Tuesday, speaking alongside Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu.

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