Cyprus-Forum.com

[bill cobbett]

Yes, some will wish to thank to "g"IG for that savoury bit of baloney...

... but those of us who live in the Real World may be more interested in the real current events in the Eastern Med with news that Greece, Israel and the USA have started a two-week naval exercise in the area.

In the past this annual exercise would have included Turkey rather than Greece, but times have changed.

Sources are saying that this exercise has the defence of off-shore oil/gas installations at its core.

The news-site France24 reports that ..."Athens is keenly interested in Israel's economic rapprochement with traditional Greek ally Cyprus to develop offshore gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean..."

A little more at... http://www.france24.com/en/20130307-isr ... l-exercise

Oh and this is how the Times of Israel reports things...

..."As was the case in Noble Dina in 2012, the exercise will include defending offshore natural gas platforms, as well as simulated air-to-air combat and anti-submarine warfare.

The US conducted similar exercises (“Reliant Mermaid”) with Turkey and Israel from 1998 to 2009, but these were canceled after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suspended military cooperation with Israel in 2010 on the heels of the Mavi Marmara flotilla raid in May of that year.

Since then Israel has entered deeper military and economic ties with Turkish rivals Greece and Cyprus..."

[Oceanside50]

"As was the case in Noble Dina in 2012, the exercise will include defending offshore natural gas platforms, as well as simulated air-to-air combat and anti-submarine warfare.

The US conducted similar exercises (“Reliant Mermaid”) with Turkey and Israel from 1998 to 2009, but these were canceled after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suspended military cooperation with Israel in 2010 on the heels of the Mavi Marmara flotilla raid in May of that year.

Since then Israel has entered deeper military and economic ties with Turkish rivals Greece and Cyprus.

havent I been saying for a very long time that the gringos ie Americans only care for one thing and one thing only.....money, oil...who cares about Turkish interests or what they are complaining about...

[GreekIslandGirl]

Yes, some will wish to thank to "g"IG for that savoury bit of baloney...

It's hardly baloney if once again the French are backing Greece and Greece is preparing to support Cyprus. Your article also backs-up why Greece was right to hold off in 1978 until the balance of power had shifted. These things don't happen in isolation and the hydrocarbon problem has been around for decades!

The Greeks have paid a dear price to join and stay in the EU. So let's hope the US knows not to mess Greece around this time! Fortunately, GB's power is (hopefully) diminished enough that they can stay out of this now.

[bill cobbett]

Yes, yes, yes... whatever... Anyway, let's move on to far more authoritative and saner sources of analysis ...

There was an article yesterday in the Wall Street Journal on the Greek EEZ matter.

Here's a couple of extracts from it...

..."Over the past several weeks, senior government officials have made a series of public statements—both at home and abroad—pointing to an almost two-decade-old international treaty granting those rights, one Greece hasn't asserted until now. Athens also has been building support in other European capitals and stepping up a diplomatic campaign at the United Nations..."

..."The next move for Greece, government officials said, would likely be another submission to the U.N. formally delineating Greece's nautical coordinates. That would be a prelude to declaring an exclusive economic zone under the provisions of the sea treaty..."

and the WSJ reports on the visit by President Hollandae of France thus...

In February, French President François Hollande, during a visit to Athens, appeared to back Greece's position by referring to the country's legal rights under the Law of the Sea treaty.

..."The presence of gas deposits that can, first, be found, and then subsequently exploited, represents an opportunity for Greece and for Europe; and I believe that here, international law, the Law of the Sea, will prevail," he said...

Lot more at... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 71978.html

[Demonax]

..."As was the case in Noble Dina in 2012, the exercise will include defending offshore natural gas platforms, as well as simulated air-to-air combat and anti-submarine warfare.

The US conducted similar exercises (“Reliant Mermaid”) with Turkey and Israel from 1998 to 2009, but these were canceled after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suspended military cooperation with Israel in 2010 on the heels of the Mavi Marmara flotilla raid in May of that year.

Since then Israel has entered deeper military and economic ties with Turkish rivals Greece and Cyprus..."

Ah, yes. In the old days it was Israel-Turkey and the US who conducted these military exercises. Now it appears to be Greece in the place of Turkey. How times have changed.

[bill cobbett]

News earlier today... MEPs at the European Parliament have voted in favour of the Energy 2050 Programme.

Amongst its amendments was support for the establishment of UNCLOS-based delineation agreements in the Eastern Med.

[Oceanside50]

i guess we are getting one step closer to seeing what Turkey is made of.....

a) declaring a war
or
b)Erdogan and his croonies ranting and raving about their Islamic roots....after Greece and Cyprus become one of the biggest hydrocarbon exporters in the world


i predict b