Cyprus-Forum.com

[Hatter2]

Nikita, I think you have to dig a bit deeper for this analysis.

Greece can afford to wait

Really, Greece can afford to wait ? I guess the powers that be in Greece must agree with you, because thay have been "waiting" for more than 30 years.
The current plight of the Greek economy means that Greece can afford to wait indefinitely for those valuable oil revenues that can pay off Greece's foreign debt ?.

Firstly the probable gas and oil reserves are not in the Aegean but south of Crete and in the Ionian sea where Turkey cannot have any claims.

Ever heard of the vast quantities of oil in the Aegean sea around Thassos ?
In any case, it seems more than likely that there are vastly more oil & gas south of Crete and in the Ionian sea, where indeed Turkey cannot have any claims. So what is stopping Greece from exploiting those potential oil fields ? I guess they don't need the revenues because by exploiting these valuable resources, they would be running the risk that Greece would at last become financially independent ?

Secondly Turkey must sign the Law of the Sea convention to enter the EU. One way or another the Turks will have to decide whether they will be EU members, and accept Greek rights in the Aegean, or insist on grey areas and other bullshit theories and stay out. In short, they are the ones who have the problem, not Greece.

This is hardly relevant. Firstly, we don'nt know for sure that Turkey really wants to be in the EU - they might be just as content to be in the half-way house indfefinitely, as it suits their interests. Secondly, the International Law of the Sea has been ratified by so many countries that it is now established and probably binding.

On one thing we agree, Turkey has a problem - but probably not in the way you mean it.

[Hermes]

Greece can afford to wait.

Firstly the probable gas and oil reserves are not in the Aegean but south of Crete and in the Ionian sea where Turkey cannot have any claims.

Secondly Turkey must sign the Law of the Sea convention to enter the EU. One way or another the Turks will have to decide whether they will be EU members, and accept Greek rights in the Aegean, or insist on grey areas and other bullshit theories and stay out. In short, they are the ones who have the problem, not Greece.

Nikitas,

Don't you think that Turkey's recent actions prove that it has given up on joining the EU or signing up to the UN Law of the Sea? The Greek and Cypriot diplomatic strategy of taming the Turkish beast through the support of Turkey's EU candidacy is looking like a failure. Turkey made a strategic choice to turn its back on Europe and keep on occupying Cyprus. Now it has no alternative but to look East. Time will tell just how short-sighted this will be. But this is the course Erdogan and Davutoglu have embarked on.

Turkey's ambition is now to become the dominant regional power in the Near East. All of its recent actions are evidence of this. There is no point in clinging onto the illusion of Turkish EU membership creating a compliant Turkey. Greece and Cyprus have to refashion a new military and diplomatic response. This will necessitate a new strategic alliance with Israel and with the EU through countries like France and Germany. We have options for a military alliance with Israel to defend our resources. It is reaching time for Greece and Cyprus to abandon the failed policies of the last decade and to start to defend our interests...

[Capt J Sparrow]

Greece can afford to wait.

Firstly the probable gas and oil reserves are not in the Aegean but south of Crete and in the Ionian sea where Turkey cannot have any claims.

Secondly Turkey must sign the Law of the Sea convention to enter the EU. One way or another the Turks will have to decide whether they will be EU members, and accept Greek rights in the Aegean, or insist on grey areas and other bullshit theories and stay out. In short, they are the ones who have the problem, not Greece.

Nikitas,

I can't understand your argument. Greece, is in diabolical financial strife, and it can afford to wait?

Personally, I don't believe Turkey will become a member of the EU, and recent events seem to support that. So what Turkey will do is continuously challenge Greece in the Aegean. They will go after the weakest link, and the weakest link, purely from a political point of view is Greece.

Greece and Cyprus have the momentum at the moment. This is not always going to be the case. They need to take advantage and milk this for all its worth, even if it means that Greece should up the ante, even in its current financial state. There are many now that may be willing to side with us, and we have never had that before.