Turkey warns Lebanon, Egypt against oil exploration deal
non-egypt-against-oil-exploration-deal
HULIQ, NC
Jan 3
Turkey warned Lebanon and Egypt on Tuesday not to press ahead with oil and
gas exploration deals signed with Cyprus, saying Turkey and Turkish Cypriots
also had rights in the region.
Turkey was "determined to protect its rights and interests in the
eastern Mediterranean and will not allow attempts to erode them,"
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry warned in a statement.
Lebanon and Cyprus signed an agreement for the delineation of an
undersea border on Jan. 17 to facilitate future oil and gas
exploration between the two east Mediterranean countries.
The 200 kilometer-wide (120 mile-wide) seabed separating Lebanon and
Cyprus is believed to hold significant crude oil and natural gas
deposits. The exclusive zone agreement is designed to mark the
underwater areas where each country can carry out exploration and
exploitation work once oil or gas is discovered.
A similar agreement signed between Egypt and Cyprus allowed for the
joint exploitation of potential undersea oil and gas fields between
the two countries.
Turkey and Greece came to the brink of war in early 1987 over a
similar oil drilling rights dispute in the Aegean Sea. A clash was
averted after Turkey withdrew a seismic exploration ship and agreed
not to test in contested waters if Greece did the same.
Any crisis between Turkey and EU-member Cyprus over exploration rights
could potentially drag Greece into the dispute and could also further
complicate Turkey’s relations with the EU, which has agreed to slow
down membership negotiations with Ankara over its refusal to open
ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and planes.
Turkey and Greece have nearly gone to war three times in the past four
decades over territorial disputes, including the 1987 standoff.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Turkey had "legitimate and legal
rights and interests" in the eastern Mediterranean and insisted
Turkish Cypriots also had a say on oil and gas rights concerning the
island.
"The delineation of the continental shelf or of exclusive economic
rights in the eastern Mediterranean is only possible through
arrangements that would take into account the rights and interests of
all parties," it said.
It also said Lebanon had signed the deal despite assurances to Turkish
leaders that it would not, the ministry said.
"Cyprus does not represent the whole of the island," the Turkish
statement said. "Therefore laws on the issue enacted by the Greek
Cypriot government or agreements made with other interested parties
have no validity for us."
"We remind them to also take into consideration the will of the
Turkish Cypriots and not to take any initiatives that may negatively
affect the process of resolution of the Cyprus issue," the ministry
added.
The Mediterranean island has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south
home of the internationally recognized government and Turkish Cypriot
north since a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a coup supporting
union of the island with Greece. Turkey has no diplomatic relations
with the government in the south and supports a breakaway Turkish
Cypriot state, recognized only by Ankara.
The internationally-recognized Cypriot government said it would launch
an international tender in February for offshore oil and gas
exploration rights.
The Norwegian energy consulting firm PGS recently began a 3-D seismic
survey to determine the volume of exploitable hydrocarbon reserves off
the Lebanese coast.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat has said his people would not
renounce oil and gas rights in the Mediterranean and warned of rising
tensions if deposits were not jointly exploited by the two
communities.
– Pravda.ru