Turkey says Cyprus oil drilling plans are "provocation"

17 Sep 2011 17:16
Source: Reuters // Reuters

* Minister says will consider surveys with northern Cyprus

* Turkey says will not accept "fait accompli": (An accomplished, presumably irreversible deed or fact.)

* Drilling spat comes ahead of UN peace deal deadline (Adds analyst comment)

By Jonathon Burch

ANKARA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Saturday plans by Cyprus to begin gas exploration in the Mediterranean amounted to "provocation" and it would consider carrying out offshore surveys with northern Cyprus if drilling went ahead.

The comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu were the latest in a row over ownership of potential hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern Mediterranean and come at a time of heightened tension in the region after ties between Turkey and Israel became strained.

The internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government has said it will pursue its offshore gas plans and block Turkey's European Union entry talks as long as Ankara challenges its decision.

Turkey, the only country to recognise the breakaway state of northern Cyprus, has taken a direct role in the row, saying any reserves around the island belong not only to Greek Cypriots but also Turkish Cypriots.

"If this fait accompli continues we have steps of our own that we will take ... northern Cyprus can carry out the same explorations with Turkey and TPAO," Davutoglu told a news conference, referring to Turkey's state-owned oil and gas exploration company.

"We will not accept any fait accompli. This must be understood by the international community."

Texas-based Noble Energy , under licence from the Greek Cypriot government, is expected to start work imminently on a block southeast of the island. Its drilling rig was moved into position on Thursday.

Davutoglu said a delegation from Turkey's energy ministry had travelled to northern Cyprus to discuss the topic with officials.

He said the "one-sided" exploration plans by Cyprus were a "provocation", especially coming only weeks before an October United Nations deadline for a peace settlement for the divided island.

On Friday, the U.N. appealed to all involved for a peaceful resolution to the dispute and said any gas finds should benefit both communities if they ended their conflict.

"LINE IN THE SAND"

Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. Present peace talks are the latest in a series of on-and-off consultations to relink the sides under a federal model.

The United Nations is tentatively eyeing a deal on Cyprus by mid-2012, when the island assumes the rotating EU presidency.

Analysts said Turkey would unlikely back down on its position and the spat would halt peace talks at least in the short-term.

"The Turks seem willing to draw a line in the sand on this and I can't see them backing down. We were already getting to the end game of the latest attempts at Cypriot reunification and I think this probably puts an end to that for the time being," said David Lea, a Western Europe analyst at Control Risks.

"I wouldn't see this sparking conflict in the short-term but it will make resolving issues more difficult and it's not going to go away."

Rhetoric over ownership of the potential oil and gas deposits had already sharpened this week. Turkey said on Thursday it would sign a pact with the northern Cypriots to set out their maritime boundaries if the Greek Cypriots pressed ahead with exploration.

The U.S. Geological Survey last year estimated there were around 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and around 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Levant Basin Province, although disputes over control have held back exploration. (Additional reporting by Peter Apps; Editing by Sophie Hares)