Turkey will suspend research for oil and gas exploration in disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean that abruptly raised military tensions with neighboring Greece, a top Turkish official said Tuesday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his aides to “put this on hold for some time,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told Turkish broadcaster CNN Turk. Last week, Turkey announced plans to dispatch research vessel Oruc Reis and two support ships to carry out operations through Aug. 2 south of the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Kastellorizo. The islands are close to Turkey's coastline.