Greek PM asks Pompeo for US help to calm Turkish offshore tensions
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged the US on Saturday to use its influence to defuse tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Cyprus and Turkey are locked in a dispute over offshore rights.
Mitsotakis told visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Turkish moves south of the island in recent days were a “flagrant violation” of Cyprus’ sovereign rights.
Tensions between Cyprus and Turkey over offshore drilling have intensified after Ankara sent a drilling ship to an area already licensed by Nicosia to Italian and French energy companies.
Turkey and Greece are allies in NATO but long at loggerheads over Cyprus, which has been ethnically
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split between Greek and Turkish Cypriots since 1974.
“The United States has a particular interest in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Cyprus is only asking for the self-evident, the implementation of international law,” Mitsotakis told Pompeo, who is visiting Greece on the last leg of a trip to southern Europe. “I anticipate the positive contribution of the US to lead to the creation finally of a more constructive and fruitful climate of cooperation in the region,” Mitsotakis said.
Ankara says some of the areas where Cyprus is exploring are either on its own continental shelf or in zones where Turkish Cypriots have equal rights over any finds with Greek Cypriots.
A Turkish drill ship, the Yavuz, is currently 50 nautical miles off Cyprus. Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Saturday that drilling would start “as soon as possible.”
Responding to Mitsotakis, Pompeo did not refer to Cyprus. “Today the relationship between (our) two countries has truly never been stronger,” Pompeo said, praising the efforts of Greece on its path to economic recovery.
“We are very confident that together we can work to ensure Greece can be a pillar for stability in this region.”
The discovery of huge gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has triggered a race to tap the region’s resources and sparked a dispute between Turkey and Cyprus. Turkey has had troops stationed in Cyprus since 1974 when it invaded and occupied its northern third after a coup sponsored by the military junta then ruling Greece.
As well as holding talks with Mitsotakis, who took office in July, Pompeo was also meeting Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias and Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos.