Turkey Contests Drilling Rights Near Cyprus
Turkey has dispatched a second oil drilling ship to Cyprus’s waters. (Wikimedia Commons)
Tensions between Cyprus and Turkey over offshore drilling intensified on October 7 when Ankara sent an oil drilling ship, escorted by Turkish warships to waters already licensed by Greek Cypriots to a French-Italian consortium of oil majors Total and Eni.
The Turkish drilling ship Yavuz would be the second such vessel that Ankara has dispatched to an area 50 miles off Cyprus’s southern coast.
Since 1974, the island of Cyprus has been divided ethnically and politically. The southern region of the island is the Republic of Cyprus and is predominantly ethnically Greek. The northern part is ethnically Turkish Cypriot and has been semi-autonomous since 1974, when Turkey invaded Cyprus and installed a Turkish Cypriot assembly in the North. The Turkish Cypriot assembly has declared independence from the Republic of Cyprus; however, their independence is only recognized by Turkey.
The Turkish government has justified its intention to drill for oil in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by claiming that the southwestern areas of the EEZ legally fall within its own continental shelf. Turkey also asserts that Turkish Cypriots have the same rights as Greek Cypriots to oil discoveries in the area.
Turkey’s recent infringements have triggered vocal protests from Cyprus and the European Union, as well as the United States.
The Greek Foreign Ministry announced on October 11 that Turkey's intention to carry out a second round of offshore drilling in the EEZ was “completely contrary to any notion of legality.” In the announcement, the government stated that the arrival of Yavuz was an "utterly provocative and aggressive behavior" that was “in defiance of the calls by the EU and the international community to respect the rights of Cyprus and defuse tensions.”
EU leaders also warned Turkey to respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus’s EEZ. At a summit in Romania, European Council President Donald Tusk proclaimed that the council would stand firmly behind Cyprus and urged Turkey to refrain from its unlawful provocations.
“The European Union stands united behind the Republic of Cyprus and expects Turkey to respect the sovereign rights of the EU member states,” Tusk said. “The European Council will continue to follow these developments closely.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also advised Turkey not to engage in illegal and unacceptable drilling activity in a press briefing on October 12.
“We’ve made clear that operations in international waters are governed by a set of rules,” Pompeo explained. “We’ve told the Turks that illegal drilling is unacceptable and we’ll continue to take diplomatic actions to ... ensure that lawful activity takes place.”
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras concluded, “We want a Mediterranean region of peace and cooperation and not a Mediterranean of violations of international law. And this is not a Greek and Cypriot position, it's a European position.”