Tense atmosphere off Cyprus. Nicosia calls for help from European diplomacy
(B2 with AFP) An Italian ship (the Saipem 12000), who came to explore for gas off the coast of Cyprus, has been blocked for six days now. This sparks a new incident between the Europeans and Ankara.
Italy gets involved
The vessel, a floating drill, was destined for the target of Suepi in block 3. ENI indeed holds exploration licenses in this Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ) rich in oil and gas. But the Turkish navy blocked the ship last Friday (February 9), on the pretext of military activities in the region. Blockage which still persisted this Thursday morning (February 15). A ship of the Italian Navy, the Zephyr (F-577), a Maestrale class frigate, received the order from the government to arrive in block 3, in order to observe what the Turkish navy is doing.
Behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations
Cyprus said on Wednesday (14 February) that it was counting on European diplomacy to quickly resolve the problem of the blockade by the Turkish navy. " There are diplomatic negotiations behind the scenes, carried out by European states, and we expect results soon”, government spokesman Nicos Christoulides told public radio, according to AFP. " The actions taken cannot be made public. These efforts are multi-level, not just diplomatic”. Nicosia assures that Ankara has violated " international law by blocking off the island the ship.
Italian diplomatic channels open
« Italy has opened all diplomatic channels with Turkey to reach a shared solution that we hope will be quick. We even met (Tuesday) the Turkish Minister (of Defence) in Rome “, for her part, explained the Italian Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti, on the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. A new " We are waiting. But clearly we can't wait forever Eni boss Claudio Descalzi told Rai News 24 on Monday.
Two shooting exercises, the Turks don't care
In order to respond to this Turkish influence in its economic zone, the Cypriot government issued two NAVTEXs, announcing shooting exercises in different areas including Block 3 (see box). That is, where the ships of the Turkish Navy are already in place. They do not care and have excluded the area for their own military exercise until February 22, as indicated by the daily Kathimerini.
Turkey withdraws from the EU
The President of the European Parliament, the Italian Antonio Tajani (Forza Italia), campaigning in Italy, came to reinforce the Cypriots. He assured the Cypriot President on Tuesday (February 14) of his “ full support and called " Turkey to respect international law and refrain from any dangerous provocation in Cypriot territorial waters ». « Turkey must engage in good neighborly relations starting with an immediate de-escalation of the area. he added on his twitter feed. " This is not how we get closer to the EU, but rather how we move away from it ».
The discovery of large gas reserves at the heart of the showdown
This blockage comes after the announcement last week by Nicosia of the discovery of significant gas reserves in one of the blocks of its EEZ explored jointly by Eni and the French Total. The off-shore gas explorations started more than seven years ago by the Republic of Cyprus have led to tensions with Turkey, which is calling for their suspension pending a solution to the political situation on the island. For the Turks, this “unilateral” exploitation by the government of Nicosia violates the rights of Turkish Cypriots and their access to the natural resources of Cyprus
A Turkish warning
On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned international companies intending to prospect for hydrocarbons in Cypriot waters, while Ankara claims to defend the " inalienable rights of the Turkish-Cypriot community on the natural resources of the island against the unilateral actions from Nicosia.
Industrialists continue to drill
According to Nicos Christoulides (the future Minister of Foreign Affairs from March 1), the companies with a license have assured the Cypriot government that current events do not jeopardize their plans. The American ExxonMobil has planned to drill two exploration wells in the Cypriot EEZ this year.
(NGV with AFP)
The Russian Navy in action
We learn that Cyprus has fulfills the request of the Russian Navy to conduct military exercises in the east of the island (in blocks 13 and 14) and in the north of block three of the Cypriot exclusive economic zone. This, until February 16, according to the radio site Alpha news. It is not extraordinary, the Russian navy is regularly in exercise in this zone close to Syria where it intervenes regularly.
