East Mediterranean gas pipeline project can't succeed, Ankara says

The Eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline project, which excludes Turkey, cannot succeed, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Jan. 2.

"Any project disregarding Turkey, which has the longest coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Turkish Cypriots, who have equal rights over the natural resources of the Island of Cyprus, cannot succeed," spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.

Aksoy stressed that the project is "the latest instance of futile steps" aimed at excluding Turkey and the Turkish Cyprus (TRNC) in the region.

Bringing this issue once more to the attention of the international community, Aksoy underlined that "such sordid plans will continue to fail in the future, as they did in the past."

Turkey is the most commercially feasible and secure route for the utilization of the natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and their transfer to consumer markets in Europe, including Turkey, he added.

"Refusing to cooperate both with us and Turkish Cypriots in spite of this fact is actually a direct manifestation of some countries' pursuit of futile political motivations instead of cooperation," he said.

Prior to the signing of the agreement, Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı condemned the project, stressing that it "contradicts geographical facts" and was "decided on purely political concerns."

Turkey is a guarantor nation for the Turkish Cyprus and has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration's unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting that the Turkish Cyprus also has rights to the resources in the area.