Cyprus-Forum.com

[zan]

‘All sides need to tone down the rhetoric’
By Elias Hazou

THE REPUBLIC of Cyprus has every right to exploit any and all resources that rightfully belong to it, and is not obliged to share these with anyone else, a defiant Foreign Minister George Lillikas said yesterday.

His remarks came in the wake of Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat’s claim this week to a share in possible oil and gas deposits off the island’s coast.

In an interview with the trilingual weekly newspaper Dialogue, Talat said Turkish Cypriots and Turkey had “rights over Cyprus” and no deals could go ahead without their consent.

He also said he had protested in writing to both Egypt and Lebanon, which have signed agreements with Cyprus delineating the exclusive economic zones where exploration will take place.

“We will not give up what is rightfully ours,” said Talat, adding that if Egypt and Lebanon decided to enforce the agreements “they must know that this will raise tensions”.

He went on to suggest that the reason Greek Cypriots rejected the 2004 reunification plan was precisely because they did not want to share the subsequent oil profits.

Although not explicitly making the threats himself, the Turkish Cypriot leader was drawing on statements made in the past by former commerce minister Rolandis, who had warned that failure to take the north on board could be a reason for war.

However, sources said that late on Friday night Talat’s office sought to play down the threat aspect of the interview. It was also suggested that the meaning rendered in the English translation might have been somewhat more intense than in the original Turkish text.

Nevertheless, in an apparent dig at Rolandis, the Foreign Minister said yesterday that some on the Greek Cypriot side were inadvertently giving ammunition to Turkish interests.

“Unfortunately, some people in Cyprus, through their positions, beyond giving arguments to Turkey or the Turkish Cypriot leadership, are essentially, deliberately or inadvertently, placing the sovereignty of the state in question.”

Lillikas went on to describe Rolandis’ warnings as “danger-mongering.”

Later in the day, Rolandis released a statement in response:
“Seven years ago, Mr Lillikas and his party were deriding me when I was promoting the petroleum issue, while their newspaper Haravghi was publishing mocking pictures of myself in a sheikh’s attire. Now, they have chosen to remember oil and sovereignty?”

Speaking to the Mail, Rolandis, said there was still time to let Turkish Cypriots in on what could be a multi-billion pound oil deal in the south-eastern Mediterranean.

“I don’t know where he [Talat] is coming from, but in any case it would be a good idea to include the Turkish Cypriots in this,” Rolandis told the Mail yesterday.

The former commerce minister has argued that, even in the absence of a political settlement, economic cooperation could encourage rapprochement between the two communities.

“All Cypriots, Greek and Turkish, should share in our country’s wealth.” noted Rolandis.

Asked what, in his opinion, were the chances of tensions flaring, Rolandis cited history. In 1980, when Rolandis was foreign minister under the Spyros Kyprianou administration, an executive of a public relations firm the government had appointed in the United States advised that “in case we went along with drilling for oil, Ankara might consider further military action.”

And more recently, Rolandis noted, it was the fear of war that stopped oil activities by Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea (although in the case of the Aegean, there is no third country in the area which may pump its oil reserves).

Meanwhile the government repeated yesterday that it was the absolute sovereign right of Cyprus to exploit and resources on land or in the sea within its territory.

“Mr Talat’s comments cannot be taken seriously, and are not,” government spokesman Christodoulos Pashardis told the Mail.

Even the opposition, which maintains a conciliatory stance toward Talat, called the Turkish Cypriot leaders’ comments regrettable.

But DISY’s No.2 Averoff Neofytou yesterday added that all sides should tone down their rhetoric.

“Whoever is really interested in the good of the country should refrain from making public comments on the matter. And by that I mean everyone,” Neofytou told the Mail.

Late on Friday the Cabinet held an extraordinary session to finalise details on the areas to be explored, to approve the text for the invitation of offers, and the criteria under which they will be evaluated.

Cyprus will open up to offers for the exploration of 11 out of 13 designated blocks in February, the government announced on Thursday.

Previous studies have estimated that oil and natural gas reserves in the seas surrounding Cyprus amount to six to eight billion barrels, currently worth around $400 billion. By comparison, the national budget stands at just $8 billion.

Last year Cyprus signed an agreement with PGS, an Oslo-based oil services corporation, which helps producers find oil by using sound waves to map geological formations.

The company’s job is to scan the massive area, looking for signs of hydrocarbons – including natural gas. Using cutting-edge computer equipment, it then processes the data and produce reports. Interested oil companies buy the reports from PGS and decide whether it’s worth drilling.
It usually takes six months to process the data, after which the concerned party (in this case Cyprus) divides the area into blocks and then invites bids for each block.

The first phase of offers begins on February 15 and expires on July 16 when interested parties will have the five months to submit offers to buy the necessary data enabling them to carry out further research inside a three-year time period.

According to government spokesman Christodoulos Pashardis, the government decided for the time being to leave out of the tenders two of the 13 blocks (numbers 3 and 13) because it wanted to carry out three-dimensional scans of these areas.

Three-dimensional scanning yields more accurate readings of hydrocarbon content than two-dimensional scans.

Moreover, Pashardis explained, the two blocks are contiguous with Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone. The Lebanese government has commissioned a 3-D scanning of the areas in question, which is in progress. Because this is the same company and ship that happens to be conducting 2-D scan for Cyprus, Lebanon generously offered to bear all the costs of the expedition.
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Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007

[Rahmi]

GC's should decide whether they see the north as a separate state or not.

If they consider TRNC as an independent state, then they should recognize it, and all shall go their separate ways.

If they consider it as a part of RoC, then they should give TC's their due right.

Talat is still for unification. He will learn why partition is inevitable. I am happy that GC's are treating him like this. There won't be many unionists on the north in a few years. All this oil story is another demonstration that the only ally TC's have is Turkey.

[LENA]

GC's should decide whether they see the north as a separate state or not.

If they consider TRNC as an independent state, then they should recognize it, and all shall go their separate ways.

If they consider it as a part of RoC, then they should give TC's their due right.

Talat is still for unification. He will learn why partition is inevitable. I am happy that GC's are treating him like this. There won't be many unionists on the north in a few years. All this oil story is another demonstration that the only ally TC's have is Turkey.

Rahmi as you said we have several opinions as you do. But most of the GCs want a solution to all that but to be honest I haven't met many TCs that want a solution. They just want the recognition as a different country.

Thank Gog that people like you exist!!!! If I am not wrong you are TC, right?

[bill cobbett]

...... All this oil story is another demonstration that the only ally TC's have is Turkey.

Now why should Turkey be the only ally of the north I wonder?

[shahmaran]

GC's should decide whether they see the north as a separate state or not.

If they consider TRNC as an independent state, then they should recognize it, and all shall go their separate ways.

If they consider it as a part of RoC, then they should give TC's their due right.

Talat is still for unification. He will learn why partition is inevitable. I am happy that GC's are treating him like this. There won't be many unionists on the north in a few years. All this oil story is another demonstration that the only ally TC's have is Turkey.

Rahmi as you said we have several opinions as you do. But most of the GCs want a solution to all that but to be honest I haven't met many TCs that want a solution. They just want the recognition as a different country.

Thank Gog that people like you exist!!!! If I am not wrong you are TC, right?

Thats a solution too Lena, maybenot exactly what you have in mind but we are clearly not going to get anywhere with most of the GC solutions...

[LENA]

Thats a solution too Lena, maybenot exactly what you have in mind but we are clearly not going to get anywhere with most of the GC solutions...

Yes you are right but in my opinion is the second worst solution after war!!!

[Kikapu]

GC's should decide whether they see the north as a separate state or not.

If they consider TRNC as an independent state, then they should recognize it, and all shall go their separate ways.

If they consider it as a part of RoC, then they should give TC's their due right.

Talat is still for unification. He will learn why partition is inevitable. I am happy that GC's are treating him like this. There won't be many unionists on the north in a few years. All this oil story is another demonstration that the only ally TC's have is Turkey.

Tell me something. If you and your girlfriend had an argument and each of you decided to not to talk or even share part of each others life anymore, because she is now sleeping with another man, but you still own the house together, and you won the lottery, would you give her any money while she is with the other man, or only if she wants to continue living with you in the same house. ??

[shahmaran]

you didnt win the lottery, you found it hidden in the house you both own, so get the metaphor right please

and if you (GCs) knowingly trying to stir things up in order to get the Turks into trouble then i would watch it, because last time you resorted to such means, it costed you half of the island and who knows what will happen this time....

[Kikapu]

you didnt win the lottery, you found it hidden in the house you both own, so get the metaphor right please

and if you (GCs) knowingly trying to stir things up in order to get the Turks into trouble then i would watch it, because last time you resorted to such means, it costed you half of the island and who knows what will happen this time....

Oh, I forgot to mention it, the girlfriend drew a line dividing up the house before she left for the boyfriend, saying, from now on, this part belongs to me, and the other belongs to you. Never mind it was not legal, but she did it anyway. So now, the treasure is found not in her part of the house, so now what ?. Well, she can say, "Oh let erase that stupid line, and share the whole house together", this way, we can avoid all the legal stuff, and not pay all our treasure to the lawyers. So if she wants some of the money, she better dump the boyfriend, sooner the better.

Now, that would make her a smart girlfriend.

[shahmaran]

and were exactly is the oil Kikapu?

makes me wonder if THATS why the Annan plan failed in the South, but i dont want to get ahead of myself now would i...