Cyprus gas dispute

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

Turkey has openly conveyed to Greece that it has always stood ready to discuss maritime delimitation issues in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey's foreign minister told an interview to a Greek daily.

Turkey has always supported a policy that seeks dialogue in addressing the problems in the region, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told Greek newspaper To Vima.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu held a phone conversation with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Dec. 24.

No details of the phone conversation were revealed.

Recently Turkey's agenda, along with other countries, has been dominated with the deal Ankara struck with Tripoli last month.

The Total-Eni consortium's drilling activities in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) will not begin in block 7, as had been initially thought, but in blocks that are more likely to yield results at this time, according to reports on Monday.

Turkey's drillships and seismic research vessels will not leave Cypriot waters unless Nicosia includes Turkish Cypriots in its decision-making concerning hydrocarbon exploration. This was stated by Turkish Ambassador to Greece Burak Ozugergin, quoted by Kathimerini.

Two Turkish ships are currently conducting studies in the waters off Cyprus.

The president of the European Council has called on Turkey to stop illegal drilling off the coast of Cyprus, saying it's harming efforts to reunify the ethnically split island nation and undermines good relations with the EU.
Donald Tusk said Friday that his presence in the Cypriot capital is a demonstration of the European Union's "full solidarity" with Cyprus.

Eni is not concerned about escalating tensions between Cyprus and Turkey over the question of offshore drilling and would seek to stay clear of any conflict, the Italian oil and gas group's Chief Executive said on Thursday.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Oct. 9 slammed a joint declaration issued following a trilateral summit between Egypt, Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration on the Cyprus issue, saying it contains "baseless claims" against Turkey. 

Cyprus, Greece and Egypt called on Turkey on Tuesday to "end its provocative actions" in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, including exploring for oil in Cyprus' territorial waters, which they called "a breach of international law."

Turkey's continued "illegal drilling activities only undermine good neighborly relations" between the EU and Turkey, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Monday evening, after Ankara announced its intention to drill for gas in waters where Cyprus has licensed European energy companies to conduct a hydrocarbons search.