Ankara: GCs ignore rights to resources,
ANKARA has reacted angrily to a decision by the Greek Cypriot administration to invite oil companies to bid for hydrocarbons exploration in a disputed offshore region.
The South’s energy minister, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, said their Cabinet had on Wednesday decided to invite applications for licences in “block seven”, south-west of the island — an area overlapped by waters claimed by Turkey as part of its Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement “the decision by the Greek Cypriot government is proof that the equal rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot side with regard to the island’s natural resources continue to be ignored” and “violates the rights of our country stemming from international law”.
Exploratory activities could only take place with Turkish permission, it said, and Ankara would continue to take “all necessary measures” to “protect its rights”. It would not allow any third party to conduct exploratory activities in the region.
The development came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, referring to Cyprus in his address at the opening of the Turkish Parliament on Monday, said “no steps” could be taken “in Cyprus and the Aegean . . . without Turkey”.
He declared his preference for a “win-win understanding” in the region but cautioned against “crisis and even conflict”, and against “approaches which do not safeguard the rights, interests and expectations of Turkey and the [TRNC]”, warning: “Those trying to act in this region, while ignoring us, should know that their own existence is put entirely into jeopardy.”
Meanwhile the nominee to be the next US ambassador to Cyprus said on Thursday hydrocarbons could serve as a catalyst for increased regional cooperation and an incentive for peace.
Judith Gail Garber told the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that the region was where “US national interests in anchoring the Euro-Atlantic Alliance, securing the Eastern frontier, and stabilising the South intersect”.
She said: “We have emphasised our support of the Republic of Cyprus’s right to develop hydrocarbon resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone. We also believe the resources should be shared equitably between both communities within the context of an overall settlement.
“Hydrocarbons have the potential, if managed correctly, to be a catalyst for increased cooperation, for enhanced regional stability and prosperity, and should serve as an incentive to a Cyprus settlement.”