Ankara, Sep 12 (IANS): Turkey has urged Greece to participate in unconditional and direct talks in an effort to resolve the ongoing Eastern Mediterranean dispute.

Turkey calls on Greece to "drop its maritime boundary claims that run counter to international laws", Hami Aksoy, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, said in a statement on Friday.

"For de-escalation, it is imperative for Greece to withdraw its military vessels deployed nearby our seismic survey vessel Oruc Reis, to support NATO's de-confliction initiative," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.

Seven Mediterranean states on Thursday urged Turkey to resolve the territorial disputes with Greece and Cyprus through negotiation, warning of "further restrictive measures" if Ankara does not halt its "unilateral activities".

"We reiterate our full support and solidarity with Cyprus and Greece in the face of the repeated infringements on their sovereignty and sovereign rights, as well as confrontational actions by Turkey," said leaders from France, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Cyprus, a group dubbed MED7, in a joint declaration after their meeting in France.

Tensions flared up between Turkey and Greece over energy explorations in the Eastern Mediterranean waters in recent weeks.

Ankara dispatched its seismic survey vessel, Oruc Reis, escorted by Turkish warships to the Eastern Mediterranean after Greece and Egypt signed a maritime border agreement on the region.

Greece, which has called on Turkey to withdraw its vessels from the area, has also deployed warships to monitor Oruc Reis.

While Greece considers the explorations illegal, the Ankara government believes the waters belong to the Turkish continental shelf.