The national security adviser of Greece's premier resigned Wednesday evening over recent comments of his on a Turkish drill ship active in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"MY STATEMENT CAUSED CONFUSION"
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accepted the resignation of Aleksandros Diakopulos, who said the MTA Oruç Reis had carried out research on Greece's continental shelf, marking the region.

"My statement yesterday caused confusion and created a problem for the prime minister and the government, which is something that was never my intention," said Diakopulos in a statement.

Diakopulos' contentious statement had caused uproar in Greece as it contradicted with Athens' official position that it had blocked the vessel from the area. Opposition parties condemned the government, accusing it of misleading the public.

Diakopulos later retracted the statement, saying his words were misunderstood and that he meant that the ship had "tried" to carry out seismic surveys in Greek waters, but was stopped.

In the first week of August, Turkey resumed energy exploration efforts in the eastern Mediterranean after Greece and Egypt signed a controversial maritime delimitation deal.