Turkey on Saturday launched new military maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean expected to last two weeks, in a sign that heightened tensions between Ankara and Athens on disputed claims to exploration rights were likely to continue.

The dispute over maritime borders and gas drilling rights has reignited the long-running rivalry between Greece and Turkey, with the two neighbors staging rival naval drills.

In a message on NAVTEX, the international maritime navigational telex system, Turkey said it would carry out "shooting exercises" from Saturday until September 11 in a zone off the southern Turkish town of Anamur, north of the island of Cyprus.

Ankara already announced on Thursday that military exercises would take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in a zone further east.

In a sign of the volatility of the situation, Turkey's defense ministry said Friday that fighter jets had on Thursday intercepted six Greek aircraft which were approaching a zone where a Turkish research ship was deployed, forcing them to turn around.

It was the deployment of the Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis into Greek waters on August 10 that caused the current spike in tensions.

The European Union (EU) on Friday has warned Turkey with fresh sanctions - including tough economic measures - unless progress is made in reducing soaring tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

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It said sanctions could be discussed at a summit in late September in response to Ankara's standoff with EU member Greece.

But there was anger from Turkey, which said the EU's "unconditional" support for what it called Greece and Cyprus's "maximalist" positions ignored Ankara's legitimate claims and was itself a source of tension.

"The fact that the EU is appealing for dialogue on the one hand and at the same time making other plans reflects a lack of sincerity," Vice President Fuat Oktay said Saturday, adding that "Turkey will not hesitate to defend its interests."

Turkey and Greece have been at loggerheads over territorial boundaries for decades, but things have heated up in recent weeks with a battle for undersea natural resources threatening a geopolitical collision at Europe's southern border.

A recent spike in tensions between the two Nato nations follows Libya's decision to sign a maritime deal with Turkey to share exclusive drilling rights for oil and gas in the east Mediterranean.

The pact has led to a major diplomatic dispute between Ankara and Athens and their respective international allies.

With Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel weighing in on the row, alongside the EU, Russia and the US, the situation threatens to escalate.

(With input from agencies)