The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Tuesday condemned the Greek Cypriot administration’s drilling activities in the self-declared exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The Greek Cypriot administration’s Energy Ministry on Monday said Italy’s Eni and TotalEnergies of France began drilling an exploration gas well off the coast of the island of Cyprus.
The Tungsten Explorer drillship arrived on location southwest of the island on Monday and started drilling work on the "Cronos-1" prospect, the ministry said.
"We condemn the drilling activity conducted by the Greek Cypriot administration in the unilaterally declared so-called block 6," the TRNC’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It said the Greek Cypriot administration violates the equal rights of the Turkish Cypriot people for the natural resources on the island with its unilateral activities and escalates tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and on the island, instead of cooperation.
It added that TRNC’s proposal envisaging "cooperation and equitable share of hydrocarbons" is still on the table.
"We expect the Greek Cypriot administration to positively respond to our proposal and cease its unilateral activities immediately," it said. "If it fails to do so, as the Turkish Cypriot side, we will continue resolutely to undertake hydrocarbon activities in the blocks licensed in 2011 on the basis of our inherent rights. There should be no controversy in that."
The Greek Cypriot administration announced Monday that the drilling activity in the so-called sixth block of the so-called EEZ had resumed, after Eni and TotalEnergies postponed their operations in the Eastern Mediterranean in May 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The companies had initially notified that the delay would last until March or April 2021.
The Greek Cypriot administration unilaterally declared a total of 13 so-called parcels in the Eastern Mediterranean as its EEZ allowed international oil and drilling companies to operate in these areas, which are anticipated to hold rich hydrocarbon reserves.
However, the majority of these parcels clash with the EEZ declared by the TRNC, with the Greek Cypriot administration ignoring the fundamental rights of the TRNC to a share of the island’s resources.
Turkey, as a guarantor nation to the TRNC and in support of its rights to East Mediterranean resources, has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration’s unilateral drilling, asserting that the TRNC also has rights to the resources in the area.
In 1974, following a coup aimed at the annexation of Cyprus by Greece, Ankara was forced to intervene as a guarantor power on the island. In 1983, the TRNC was founded.
The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the Cyprus dispute, all ending in failure. The latest, held with the participation of the guarantor countries – Turkey, Greece and the U.K. – came to an end without any progress in 2017 in Switzerland.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
The TRNC was founded in 1983. It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries – Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom.