Turkey to resume drilling for gas near Cyprus
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Turkey is planning on resuming its gas drilling operations near Cyprus despite that almost landing Ankara sanctions from the EU in 2020.
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A helicopter flies over Turkey's drilling ship, 'Fatih' dispatched towards the eastern Mediterranean, near Cyprus, on July 9, 2019 (AP)
Turkey will resume in August its drilling operations near Cyprus, a top official said Wednesday in an announcement that raises concerns about a Turkish-EU diplomatic row.
The European Union was very close to sanctioning Turkey in 2020 over its incursion into contested east Mediterranean waters to expand its gas drilling operations by finding new reserves.
Turkey had been drilling near waters claimed by Greece, a historic rival of Turkey's, as well as the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Ankara recognizes.
The diplomatic crisis culminated with Turkey withdrawing a research vessel from the marine region and putting on hold its drilling operations near the island nation.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, however, said during a visit to the self-declared republic during its national holiday that his country would resume drilling off the island's coasts in August, not specifying an exact date.
"The hydrocarbon resources of the Mediterranean are not the toys of the Greek Cypriots," NTV television quoted Oktay as saying.
"Our Abdulhamid Han drilling ship is planning to start its operations in the Mediterranean next month," he added.
Athens has continuously accused Ankara of staging illegal military sorties over its chain of islands in the Aegean Sea.
Turkey, on the other hand, accuses Greece of probing up secret military bases on the islands in violation of international agreements.
Cyprus' regional waters are being drilled by major international and regional powers in search of fresh natural gas reserves in a bid to expand their gas supplies that are independent of Russia.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last month that he was ready to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan despite the latter saying days earlier that his country would not give up its rights in the Aegean Sea and would not be afraid to use the powers granted to it by international treaties.
Ankara has long been demanding the demilitarization of the Aegean islands, arguing that Greece's military presence is a violation of long-standing international treaties and this calls into question the sovereignty of the islands.
Tensions have been growing between Greece and Turkey in recent years because of territorial disputes. The two countries are struggling to delineate maritime zones.
