Cyprus-Forum.com

[halil]

http://www.euronews.net/2011/09/27/gas- ... ey-cyprus/

Turkey has begun exploring for gas off the Cyprus coast in a move that is sharpening a dispute over resources and may threaten Turkey’s desire to join the EU as well as peace talks between the two countries.

The Turks say the exploration ship is being escorted by naval vessels.

Cyprus was divided by a Turkish 1974 invasion of the north. While the ethnic Greek south is internationally recognised, only Turkey recognises the Turkish Cypriot north. There is the constant worry that violence could flare up and ruin UN-sponsored peace talks, staggering on since 2008. So why is Turkey taking such a forceful approach now?

“Turkey can not just sit back and observe what is happening. We also have economic interests. We will use our right to search for oil in these waters,” says Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc.

The discovery of huge gas deposits in the waters of Cyprus saw the Turkish research ship Piri Reis put out from Izmir a few days ago. The vessel aims to explore further off the northern shore of the island, some 80 kilometres from where the Greek Cypriots are drilling.

This was Ankara’s response to a decision by the Nicosia government of Cyprus, which alone represents the divided island as a member of the European Union, to forage in the exclusive economic zone. This was established following a deal struck with Israel. The company in charge of the job is Texas-based Noble Energy.

Cyprus has been split since Turkey invaded in response to a short-lived coup by Greek Cypriots, and has stationed a permanent garrison there for more than 30 years.

Turkey opposes internationally recognised Cyprus exploiting the gas find in the absence of an agreed unification plan.

Israel made the discovery with the US firm, between its and Lebanon’s coasts and Cyprus, naming the undersea find ‘Leviathan’, after a Biblical sea monster. Noble started working on it earlier this month.

The question of who has the right to the gas is keenly disputed. The head of one of Noble’s Israeli partners, Delex Energy, explained the impact Leviathan could have: “It’s the largest natural gas off-shore discovery in the world in the last decades. And obviously, talking about the state of Israel it’s even more significant because that could be the foundation for an export project of natural gas from the state of Israel either to Europe or to Asia.”

Right now Cyprus and Israel’s relations with Turkey are bad. Turkey’s EU accession process is blocked over Cyprus. Ankara has said unless this is solved by the time Cyprus takes the rotating EU presidency next year, Turkey will stop dealing with the EU.

The gas find is economically and politically volatile in an already unstable region.

From above link....see the video

Copyright © 2011 euronews

[Nikitas]

Halil baby,

Whatever happened to the "two state" policy promoted so many years by Turkey. Just recently it was reiterated one more time by Erdo himself when he told the TCs that there are will be two states in Cyprus?

Now that gas has been found in the south all that two state crap has been flushed down the drain, so that Turkey can claim, in the TCs name of course, a piece of the action.

Once a thief always a thief.

[ZoC]

http://m.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/turkish ... z/20110928

During a speech to mark the delivery of a Turkish frigate, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was quoted saying: “Our country’s interests in the seas start from the Suez Canal and spread to the Indian Ocean.”
“We are determined to take security measures to protect not only our commercial interests, but our interests in the natural resources of our seas,” he said, adding, “We know that we are a big and strong country. And we define our policy based on our size and strength.”

there u go.

[Nikitas]

One new frigate justifies such big words!! Bloody hell, what would he say if he were commissioning an air craft carrier? I hate to think.

[Maximus]

EU member Cyprus has a major natural gas find on its hands, which is complicating even further dealings with EU-candidate country Turkey. Unification talks on the divided island and Cyprus’s turn as EU president next year make this a particularly testing time. Cyprus strikes it rich; Turkey insists the claim is far from cut and dry.

For a reaction to the Turkish view, euronews spoke to the Cyprus government’s foreign minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis.

Alasdair Sandford, euronews:
By going drilling for oil and gas in the first place, was this not a provocative gesture, that was obviously going to annoy the Turks?

Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus:
This project started several years ago. It is not something new. First of all, since 2007, Cyprus started concluding agreements with its neighbours, first with Lebanon then with Egypt in 2007. In 2010 we concluded an agreement with Israel for the delineation of our exclusive economic zones. All our contact and all our activities are based on the UN convention on the law of the sea. Following all these agreements, we began the process of licensing. All these activities are taking place in our exclusive economic zone. Whatever [everything] we discover in our exclusive economic zone, whatever natural resources will be for the benefit of Cyprus — for the benefit of the people of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, as well as for the benefit of the energy needs of Europe.

euronews:
How are you going to ensure that it is for the benefits of everyone on the island, as you say for Turkish Cypriots as well?

Kozakou-Marcoullis:
We hope, and we are convinced that we will have a unification of the island, so that both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots — the entire population of Cyprus — will benefit from this exploitation of our natural resources. Now, regarding the conduct of Turkey: we are not surprised, really. I mean, we have been undergoing — for the past 37 years — and aggression, continuing aggression, and I think that now the international community, and especially our partners in the European Union, have started witnessing now the real face of Turkey.

euronews:
Turkey says it is not being aggressive, and that it is just defending its interests.

Kozakou-Marcoullis:
‘Defending its interests…’ You defend your interests when you have the rights! It [Turkey] is going into our exclusive economic zone. It is now conducting, as they say, seismic research. And they threaten that they will go ahead with exploration and possible exploitation or extraction activities within our exclusive economic zone… the exclusive economic zone of a member of the European Union. And Turkey is a candidate for membership to the Union!

euronews:
Speaking more generally, next year you take over the presidency of the EU. Are you going to use that to reach out to Turkey with a view to reconciliation, or are you going to try to isolate Turkey?

Kozakou-Marcoullis:
We are not going to try to isolate Turkey. I’m afraid that Turkey is trying to isolate itself from the European Union, when they are threatening – and this has come out of the mouth of all Turkish officials, from the prime minister to many ministers – that they declare that if there is no solution to the Cyprus problem by that time, that they will freeze their relations with the European Union. This is an insult for the European Union. This is an affront to the institutions of the European Union, and the problem is that Turkey does not recognise one of the member states of the European Union. This is a problem for Turkey, it’s not a problem for the European Union.

http://www.euronews.net/2011/09/28/cypr ... -over-gas/