Cyprus

Turkey plans Cyprus gas drill tit for tat

Turkey plans to sign a continental shelf accord with Turkish Cyprus if Greek Cyprus starts offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in October. This would allow Turkey and Turkish Cyprus to assign areas in the eastern Mediterranean to launch their own oil rigs. Everything is prepared between Turkey and Turkish Cyprus to sign the delimitation agreement if Greek Cyprus begins its exploration project. Greece is not happy that Turkey is trying to threaten Greek Cyprus over the planned exploration. Greece hopes that Turkey will not increase tension in the already sensitive area. Turkey says that it is just trying to ensure the protection of rights for the Turkish Cyprus, and says that the Turkish Cyprus will not be spectators to the drilling.

With Turkey trying to support the Turkish Cyprus’ rights on Cyprus, this puts them in a difficult position. Since Turkey is the only state to recognize a Turkish Cyprus state in Cyprus, it is very likely that it will be the only nation to offer such support. If this really turns out to be the case, Turkey could delay its already improbable entry into the European Union. This coupled with increasing tensions between it and Israel could cause a feeling of discontent in how current Turkish government is handling relations with other countries. The feeling of discontent could then carry over to the next election and ensure a change in political

Realist

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=turkey-plans-cyprus-gas-drill-tit-for-tat-2011-09-15

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/turkey-cyprus-idUSL5E7KF3FH20110915

September 16, 2011 at 12:26 pm