Greece submitted a note verbale to the United Nations over Turkey's decision this week to grant exploration permits "for areas of the Greek continental shelf" in the Mediterranean Sea, the Greek Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"This action safeguards Greece's stance in defense of our country's sovereign rights, in accordance with customary and conventional Law of the Sea, and specifically the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)," said a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.

The Greek government has also proceeded to the appropriate demarches to Turkey, it added.

"Greece wants to have good neighborly relations with Turkey, as well as with all the countries in its region, based on mutual respect and international legality, particularly regarding matters that concern our sovereign rights and the exploitation of our natural wealth," it was stressed.

Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos was due to brief UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the issue during a meeting in New York on Thursday. The agenda includes several issues concerning the stability and security of the wider region of Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Debt-laden Greece's intention to push through oil and gas exploration projects in the Aegean Sea, which divides and connects the two countries, after the launch of similar offshore oil and gas drilling projects by Cyprus Republic last year is not welcome in Ankara.

As undersea boundaries have been a longstanding dispute between the two neighbor countries, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to seek some progress during his scheduled visit to Ankara in March in the context of wider efforts to resolve the Greek debt crisis. Endi

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