Athens/Nicosia - Cyprus on Tuesday said it will push ahead with oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean despite the harassment by Turkish warships which threaten to disturb ongoing reunification talks.

"We will defend the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and we have reported the provocative actions of Ankara to the United Nations and the European Union," said Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias.

Nicosia on Monday said it has launched a complaint with the United Nations after claims that a Turkish warship harassed vessels exploring for oil and gas earlier this month.

The Greek Cypriot government said a Norwegian-flagged vessel that was carrying out oil and gas surveys in the eastern Aegean on behalf of Nicosia was harassed by Turkish warships. The incident occurred south of Paphos on November 13.

The ship was forced to cease operations and stop sailing in the territorial waters and economic zone of the Republic of Cyprus out of concern for the lives and safety of its crew.

Last year, the Cyprus government offered a hydrocarbon exploration contract for 11 blocks south and south-east of the island.

Turkey argues the exploration encroaches on its continental shelf while Cyprus says the ships were sailing within its economic zone.

The move by Cyprus to tap into potential deepwater reserves in the Mediterranean angered Turkey, with Ankara saying oil and gas exploration could unsettle renewed peace talk efforts aimed at reunifying Cyprus.

Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias did not rule out the possibility that Turkey was harassing the ships and using the territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean as a means of deliberately disrupting the ongoing reunification talks in Cyprus.

"Everything is a possibility," Christofias said before meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat on Tuesday.

A new round of reunification talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots began in September and are expected to continue well into 2009.

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north after Turkey invaded in 1974 in response to a coup initiated by the military junta then ruling Greece. (dpa)