Turkey has given support to its drilling vessel off the shores of Cyprus by launching a naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas. The drilling has been deemed illegal by both the EU and the US.
Berat Albayrak
Minister of Treasury and Finance of Turkey Berat Albayrak made the announcement just before Monday’s launch by Turkey of its annual Sea Wolf military exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea.
The naval exercises involve several warships and aircraft and are set to continue until May 25th. Some are seeing the exercises as a thinly veiled warning not to interfere with the drilling ship Fatih and its operations off the Cypriot island of Paphos.
Before the naval exercises began, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked of “increasing attempts to violate our rights in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean,” which some regarded as a wish to assert Turkish rights in not just Cyprus, but also in Greece.
Harking back to the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation of the island which ended in the division between the Greek and Turkish sectors and populations, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said that Turkey's actions amounted to "a second invasion".
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras described Turkey as “erratic and aggressive” and said that there was a need for dialogue.
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said: “We call on Turkey to show restraint, respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and refrain from any such illegal action, to which the European Union will respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus.”
US state department spokesman Morgan Ortagus said: “The United States is deeply concerned by Turkey’s announced intentions to begin offshore drilling operations in an area claimed by the Republic of Cyprus as its EEZ. This step is highly provocative and risks raising tensions in the region. We urge Turkish authorities to halt these operations and encourage all parties to act with restraint.”
The response by Turkey's finance minister, Berat Albayrak, who is also President Erdoğan's son-in-law, was to announce plans for a second drilling vessel, the Yavuz, to join the Fatih.
Turkey is not a signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides a definition of a nation's maritime zone and rights. The Turkish claim to the water takes in otherwise internationally recognised parts of the Cypriot EEZ and also extends west to Crete, which is part of Greece's EEZ.
The drilling row coincides with negotiations between the Cypriot government and France's Total and Italy's ENI for exploration licences for one EEZ block. ExxonMobil is also already involved in deep-sea drilling south of the port of Limassol.
The Turkish government argues that Cyprus cannot exploit its offshore gas and oil until a political settlement on the island has been reached that allows both communities to share revenues.
To date, efforts by the UN and other bodies to reunite the island have failed.
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