Erdogan: New gas reserves found in Black Sea

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the country has found new natural gas reserves in the Black Sea. 

He is expected to announce the amount when he visits a drill ship there at the weekend.

Speaking to the parliamentary group of his governing Justice and Development (AK) Party on Wednesday, Erdogan said the July 20 find of 320 billion cubic meters of gas reserves by Turkey's drill ship, the Fatih,  made the country "very happy."

Erdogan said more good news on natural gas reserves would come from the Fatih's ongoing activities in the region.

"By going to our drill ship Fatih on Saturday, we'll both personally witness the efforts on site and announce the amount of the new reserve," he said.

The Fatih discovered the Tuna-1 well in the Sakarya gas field around 170 kilometres off Turkey's northern coast.

The discovery was the biggest in Turkey's history. 

Officials have said the gas from the well would be ready for public use in 2023.

READ MORE: Turkey finds natural gas reserve of 320 billion cubic metres off Black Sea

Will give Greece 'answer it deserves'

Erdogan also vowed to give its NATO ally Greece the "answer it deserves" over their energy dispute in the contested waters in the eastern Mediterranean.

"We will continue to give Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration – who fail to keep their promises at the EU and NATO platforms – the answer they deserve on the ground," Erdogan said in a speech to parliament.

The Turkish president said the drillship Yavuz would also return to the eastern Mediterranean after maintenance at the port.

He warned that plans that disregard the interests of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would not succeed.

Minsk stalling on Karabakh conflict

On occupied Karabakh, Erdogan said the Minsk group was stalling in dealing with the conflict, reiterating Turkey's stance that the Armenian-occupied region should be given back to Azerbaijan.

Erdogan refuted accusations against Turkey of sending Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan.

"Those who call us say 'you sent there the mujahideen from Syria'. We don't have any such agenda," Erdogan said.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces continued to engage in new fighting over the area despite pleas to observe a ceasefire, as the Red Cross warned hundreds of thousands were already affected by the conflict.

READ MORE: Fighting intensifies in occupied-Karabakh as civilian casualties mount