Erdogan: Turkey will make no concessions in eastern Mediterranean

Turkey says it will hold live-fire exercises in the eastern Mediterranean on September 1 and 2, the latest in a series of military drills that have fuelled tensions with Greece, Al Jazeera reports.

The Turkish navy issued the latest advisory, known as a Navtex, on Thursday saying it will hold the shooting exercises in the eastern Mediterranean off the coast of Iskenderun, northeast of Cyprus.

The two NATO states have been locked in a bitter dispute over control of eastern Mediterranean waters that escalated after Ankara sent a seismic survey vessel to the disputed region this month - a move that Athens called illegal.

Turkey accused France of stoking tensions after Paris said it would join Italy, Greece and Cyprus in three-day air and sea military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said Ankara would not be deterred by the show of force. 

"To believe that it would be possible to thwart the Turkish armed forces' operations with exercises and similar activities is nothing more than a pipe dream," Akar said in an interview with state-run Anadolu news agency.