Drilling off Cyprus tenses relations between EU and Turkey

The discovery of gigantic gas fields in recent years off Cyprus continues to exacerbate tensions between Ankara and Nicosia, hence the European Union (EU). Despite the warnings of the Twenty-eight, Turkey announced Wednesday (July 10th) that it will continue its drilling off the Mediterranean island.

Ankara "rejects" the critics, said the ministry in a statement, noting that one of its ships has already started drilling in May and a second, the "Yavuz", which is off the Cypriot peninsula Karpas, is also preparing to launch its exploration work.

The communique does not give a date for the start of this work, but the Minister of Energy, Fatih Sönmez, announced Saturday that they would start "within a week".

The EU, not "an impartial mediator"

The head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, had previously said that the EU, which had threatened Turkey with sanctions after the announcement of the dispatch of the drill ship "Yavuz", would respond "in an appropriate manner, in total solidarity with Cyprus ". But the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the EU could not endorse "an impartial mediator role" on the issue.

France had also called on Turkey to respect the "sovereignty" of Cyprus and not to endanger "regional stability". Turkey has announced new drilling operations in the eastern Mediterranean, including areas within the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Cyprus, according to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Egypt and the United States have also expressed "concern" over new Turkish drilling projects.

Desired deposits

In recent years, Nicosia has signed exploration contracts with oil giants such as the Italian ENI, the French Total or the American ExxonMobil.

But the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus exercises authority only over the southern two-thirds of the island, the northern part being occupied by Turkey since its invasion in 1974, in response to a coup d'état aimed at reattaching the country to Greece.

Ankara, which awarded exploration contracts to Turkish Petroleum in 2009 and 2012, opposes any exploration and exploitation of these gas resources that would exclude the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), self-proclaimed and unrecognized by the community. international.

With AFP