ANKARA 

Greece announced Monday that US energy giant Exxon Mobil will soon start seismic surveys in two new spots for potential energy sources in the country’s waters.

The surveys will be conducted in two blocks southwest of the Peloponnese peninsula and the island of Crete in the coming days, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during an exclusive interview with one of the country’s prominent private broadcasters, ANT1.

"The discovery of natural gas there, as we hope for, would contribute to the energy security of the whole region," he said.

Referring to the possible extension of Greek territorial waters to 12 nautical miles south of Crete, as brought forward by the main opposition party SYRIZA-PS, Mitsotakis said they will never rule out a such move.

Reiterating that they do not recognize the deals between Türkiye and Libya on the demarcation of their respective exclusive economic zones and joint exploration of the natural resources, he said Libya is Greece’s natural interlocutor.

As such, Greece wants to demarcate its maritime borders with Libya and eventually jointly explore for possible hydrocarbon reserves in the area between the countries, he added.