Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Cyprus on Tuesday 27 November against any “reckless action” as the Republic of Cyprus wants to explore gas fields located in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
Several international companies, such as the French group Total, the Italian Eni or the American ExxonMobil are interested in exploring and exploiting these resources.
“The reckless actions of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, which are supported by some European countries, have become a source of danger and above all a threat to themselves”, he warned in a speech in Ankara. According to him, these European countries, "which tremble like dead leaves in the face of the influx of migrants, turn into lions when it comes to oil or gas”. Turkey wishes to suspend all operations until a solution to the division of Cyprus is found.
The Republic of Cyprus rejects Ankara's accusations. In an exclusive interview with EUROPE, the Cypriot spokesman, Prodromos Prodromou, explained that the Republic of Cyprus acts on behalf of both Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
"Turkey accuses the Republic of Cyprus of making unilateral progress on the exploitation of natural gas. The Republic of Cyprus is not only the Greek Cypriots, but also the Turkish Cypriots”, he recalled.
“It is understood that the results of the research [...] will be for the benefit of the country, whether it is the Republic of Cyprus today or the federal state that will succeed the Republic of Cyprus”, he added.
Energy, a future federal jurisdiction
Although the gas issue is not part of the reunification negotiations, according to Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, during these talks, it was decided that the issue of natural resources would become a federal competence once the island is reunited.
“We have already submitted to the House of Representatives a proposal to create, to establish a sovereign fund based on the example of Norway so that all possible operating profits can be deposited in this sovereign fund to be invested in the future for future generations”, Mr Christodoulides told EUROPE.
Moreover, for Mr. Prodromou, Ankara does not act in the interest of Turkish Cypriots, but in its own interest. “The Turks divided the EEZ between Turkey and Egypt. They decided to give part of the Cypriot zone to Egypt. This proves that they are not even acting in the interest of Turkish Cypriots, but according to their own wishes", he said.
According to the Cypriot government, there will be at least half a decade between the search for resources and the first operations. “At best, the best case scenario for talking about the possible financial benefits of energy will be in six, seven or eight years”, explained the Cypriot Foreign Minister, adding that a "rational Turkey" could see the "potential benefits" on the energy issue, and not only in the case that the Cyprus problem is solved.
Cyprus has reached agreements with Israel, the Palestinians or Egypt, and energy is part of a regional discussion from which Turkey is excluded because of its non-recognition of the Republic of Cyprus. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Marion Fontana)