US urges calm as Ankara ups ante over Cyprus gas

With Turkey upping the ante with regard to drilling operations by US energy giant ExxonMobil in Block 10 of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone, a US State Department official reiterated yesterday that Washington discourages any act or rhetoric that would raise tensions in the region and that it supports Cyprus’s right to develop natural resources in its EEZ. The US has also said the wealth from the island’s natural resources should be equitably shared by Greek and Turkish Cypriots as part of a reunification solution.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday conveyed his intent to proceed with gas exploration. “Pressure which violates states’ sovereign rights and prevente them from serving their citizens will benefit no one,” Turkish paper Hurriyet quoted him as saying during a ceremony yesterday marking the completion of the offshore section of the Turkish Stream Project (TurkStream) with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

For its part, Greece said yesterday that it will continue its cooperation with Cyprus despite the “noises” that seek to undermine international law. “We will continue our close cooperation stemming from the respect of international law, ignoring any noises that dispute rights deriving from the law of the sea and the international agreements that our countries have signed,” said Alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Sunday that ExxonMobil’s drilling operations could disrupt the delicate balance in the Eastern Mediterranean. “We renew our warnings to companies participating in the Greek Cypriots’ one-sided exploration and drilling. We remind them that sharing the natural resources of the island of Cyprus relates to the core of the Cyprus issue,” he said