Cyprus-Forum.com

[Bananiot]

Whereas you go to the gym or better, expect the French to fight your war. What a fool!

[Nikitas]

Bananiot,

The Law of the Sea was the result of POLITICAL dealing. Nations with very big balls sat down and negotiated a system of dividing the marine resources of the planet. It just so happens that some of those rules, devised by the powerful and therefore politically dominant, nations favor nations like Greece and Cyprus in this instance. Greece was against the 12 mile limit but it was shoved down its throat by the rest of the participants.

Yet you assert that if Greece and Cyprus insist on what is their just due according to the rules that others imposed on the world they are being "impolitic". Presumably your version of wise manouvering would be for both Greece and Cyprus to unilaterally cede their marine zones to Turkey, perhaps with nothing asked for in exchange.

Your approach is baffling, it really is. Not only on this point but in general. You are ready to ridicule anyone who says that might is right, coming up with all kinds of principled responses, yet when others cite general rules you come up with pecisely the opposite approach, that power is not only relative but decisive.

Either you are confused or you are jerking our chains!

[Nikitas]

"The Turks are not stupid Franks, they can defend their stance, despite all we say. "

As far as I know the EU accession process mandates that states accept several international conventions including the Law of the Sea. So it seems that the Turks are NOT able to defend their claims. Additiconally they must accept the resolution of problems via legal means and not through force. This puts the Turks on the political defensive, not the offensive.

Turkey can send its navy to the disputed area all it wants. At some point it will have to settle the dispute in a manner which is generally acceptable and recognised.

The assertion that Turkey can claim EEZ so close to Akamas is nonsense. When the EEZ is divided among neighboring states the first rule is the application of the median line. 12 miles off Akamas is definitely NOT the median line.

As for the non delimitation of the north of CYprus, that is an example of political judgement by the RoC in not showing areas which at the moment are under occupation. That should gladden the heart of a "realist" like you Bananiot. It shows an application of Realpolitik by the RoC.

[halil]

Turkish Cypriot reaction

In his Wednesday press meeting Turkish Cypriot Presidential Spokesperson Hasan Ercakica defined the Greek Cypriot side’s oil seeking attempt as “provocative.”

The Presidential Spokesman stated that the fact that the Greek Cypriot side has speeded up its initiatives in exploring for oil and natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean during the ongoing comprehensive negotiations to seek a solution to the Cyprus Problem will only have a negative effect on the process.

Stating, at the weekly press conference, that the Greek Cypriot leadership has been acting against the goodwill that is necessary for the critical process that the two sides have been engaged in, Ercakica said: “By making efforts to have unilateral domination over the natural resources of Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot leadership continues to raise doubts on the Turkish Cypriot side regarding their real intentions.”

Pointing out that it would have been better to wait for a solution to be reached before trying to benefit from the natural resources that the island has, Ercakica said: “It should be the two people themselves who should decide on how to benefit from these resources by means of their common will and cooperation”.

Ercakica continued as follows: “The Greek Cypriot side attacks Turkey, as they always do on almost every issue, regarding the oil explorations in order to be able to conceal the fact that they have been usurping the existing rights of the Turkish Cypriots concerning the natural resources of the island and believe that they can hide the real reasons of the problem. The initiatives they have launched to protest Turkey by the UN and the EU are nothing but actions to that end. The Turkish Cypriot side has also launched the necessary initiatives as a response to such Greek Cypriot actions aimed at misleading the international community.”

[Oracle]

Blackmailing, greedy, selfish, thieving, lying, bloody Turks!

[Kifeas]

Turkish Cypriot reaction

In his Wednesday press meeting Turkish Cypriot Presidential Spokesperson Hasan Ercakica defined the Greek Cypriot side’s oil seeking attempt as “provocative.”

The Presidential Spokesman stated that the fact that the Greek Cypriot side has speeded up its initiatives in exploring for oil and natural gas in the Eastern Mediterranean during the ongoing comprehensive negotiations to seek a solution to the Cyprus Problem will only have a negative effect on the process.

Stating, at the weekly press conference, that the Greek Cypriot leadership has been acting against the goodwill that is necessary for the critical process that the two sides have been engaged in, Ercakica said: “By making efforts to have unilateral domination over the natural resources of Cyprus, the Greek Cypriot leadership continues to raise doubts on the Turkish Cypriot side regarding their real intentions.”

Pointing out that it would have been better to wait for a solution to be reached before trying to benefit from the natural resources that the island has, Ercakica said: “It should be the two people themselves who should decide on how to benefit from these resources by means of their common will and cooperation”.

Ercakica continued as follows: “The Greek Cypriot side attacks Turkey, as they always do on almost every issue, regarding the oil explorations in order to be able to conceal the fact that they have been usurping the existing rights of the Turkish Cypriots concerning the natural resources of the island and believe that they can hide the real reasons of the problem. The initiatives they have launched to protest Turkey by the UN and the EU are nothing but actions to that end. The Turkish Cypriot side has also launched the necessary initiatives as a response to such Greek Cypriot actions aimed at misleading the international community.”

Halil, why is it provocative? Can you explain to us why?

[Kifeas]

DT, you are asking about Akamas, sorry I responded on the northern shores of Cyprus where the situation is straight forward. To the West of Cyprus, as I told Kifeas, Turkey does not consider Cyprus at all. It is as if Cyprus does not exist.

You see, Cyprus came to an agreement with Egypt and Lebanon but left Greece out of it and did not mark any plots to the west. Papadopoulos tried but Greece wanted to have nothing to do with his micromegalism. These are dangerous games which we played before and we burnt more than our fingers. We do not seem to learn from the mistakes of the past. We need solution to get out of this mess because the Turkish Cypriots can easily claim that they are founding member of the RoC and any exploitation of these resources by the RoC will leave them out. Besides, they can back their claims with the military, economic and strategic clout of Turkey and even our so called friends will lend a helpful ear to them. We need to be serious with this staff and the herculean attitude we want to display will not help us but it will land us in more trouble.

Bananiot, so far you have proved to us that you neither respect nor accept international law, nor do recognize the RoC as a sovereign nation-state. Can you tell us why you work for this government, and why are you here in this country?

[halil]

NICOSIA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus has complained to the United Nations over its oil dispute with Turkey, accusing Ankara of harassing oil exploration vessels within its exclusive economic zone, the semi-official Cyprus News Agency reported on Wednesday.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in late November, President Demetris Christofias cited at least three more" serious incidents taking place involving the harassment of research vessels by Turkish warships in the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cyprus."

Several foreign vessels commissioned by the Cypriot government were forced to return to the Cypriot territorial waters as Turkish worships cruising around the island blocked their routes, said the report.

"The continuation of these incidents, I am sad to observe, unavoidably impacts negatively on our efforts to reach a negotiated solution to the Cyprus problem," Christofias warned in the letter.

He added that he would do everything in his power to protect the peace process and bring it to a positive conclusion.

Cyprus has signed agreements with Egypt and Lebanon on the delimitation of undersea borders to facilitate oil and gas exploration after initial seismic findings show possible hydrocarbons in its economic zone.

Turkey has no diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cyprus, instead it supports, economically and militarily, the breakaway "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."

Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot leadership has maintained that they should have their share of possible offshore oil and gas.
However, Nicosia went ahead with the first round of international bidding for oil and gas exploration in February 2007. A Norwegian company has been involved in a 3D survey on the deep sea resources around Cyprus.


Editor: Yan

[Nikitas]

The exploration and the rights to explore have no connection whatsoever to the question of whether the TCs are entitled to a share in any oil or gas discovered.

Confusing these two issues is a course Turkey wants us to take, and the TCs have fallen for the bait.

Cyprus has a RIGHT to exploit its EEZ and there is NO doubt that Cyprus has an EEZ.

The question of whether the TCs share in any resources discovered is an internal matter for the Cypriots to figure out on their own.

My personal view is that if any oil is discovered then the TCs must be compelled to decide, are they with us partners in Cyprus and hence co owners of resources, or do they insist on a separate state aligned with Turkey? This is a situation where you cannot have it both ways, partitioned and participating.

Perhaps this decision is what Christofias wants to bring about with the exploration moves.

Now as to the probability of any oil or gas being there and the ease or otherwise that it can be xploited is a whole different matter.

In the long term the major energy players in the area will be the countries of the north African shores, not because of oil but due to the exploitation of new solar energy systems which can turn the Sahara into a major electricity center for Europe. This is not that far off and then Turkey can shove the pipelines and its much touted role as an energy distribution center and all that rubbish.

The Italians are already investigating the best places in the Mediterranean to lay undersea electricity cables and Spain is doing the same around Gibraltar. We should be doing the same. For further reference look in the BBC website.

[halil]

It would have been better to wait for a solution to be reached before trying to benefit from the natural resources .

It should be the two people themselves who should decide on how to benefit from these resources by means of their common will and cooperation.