... crisis- stricken Lebanese economy.
Anna Manafova:
Is the Eastern Mediterranean a New Competitor for Russia on the European Gas Markets?
Transporting the gas to Europe demanded that Cyprus be involved. This once again raised the predictable issue of Cyprus and prompted a response from Turkey (which we believe to be somewhat belated). In the course of time, Israel succeeded in securing the support of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus. The latter two states need to be involved for two reasons: the Aphrodite deposit was discovered off the coast ...
... Libya’s territory, which could put a question mark over the government’s legitimacy. On the other hand, the GNA enjoys international recognition, a fact that Turkey repeatedly stresses.
Another case is connected with gas deposits closer to the coasts of Cyprus. Turkey does not recognize Cyprus; it only recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (it is the only country to do so). Consequently, Ankara views exploring and developing gas deposits in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus as a violation of ...
... half the Aegean Continental Shelf; (2) the “Blue Homeland” consists primarily of Greek territories and Greece's threatened sovereign rights; (3) Turkey had always regarded Greece as far weaker than Turkey and weaker than what Greece really is; (4) Turkey cannot forgive Cyprus and Greece for their EEZs' hydrocarbon deposits in contrast to missing its own; (5) Erdogan cannot “tolerate” that Hellenism has weaved substantial collaboration with neighboring Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon; increasingly with France; ...
... individuals and companies involved in drilling.
The EU imposed sanctions on Turkey’s drilling projects because of the Northern Cyprus issue. This perpetual issue has resulted in a dispute on the use of the shelf-based resource extraction. At present, Cyprus and Turkey are stepping up their struggle for the resources in this shelf area that is estimated to have large gas deposits. The EU is supporting the government of the Republic of Cyprus and denouncing Turkey’s oil and gas drilling operations on Cyprus’s ...
... has been so entrenched that even if the Moscow-Ankara bonding were to expand, the former set of relations
could well co-habit
with the latter [
1
].
Presently, however, Russia-Turkey cooperation has reached such levels that the nature of the Russia-Cyprus-Turkey triangle has become
labyrinthine
. Thus, whereas in previous years the Cypriots could expect and receive Moscow’s effective support and protection from hostile actors, these days they have not received what they are used to expect. In short,...
... day” [
2
].
Recent Regional Geopolitical Developments
The Geopolitical Gordian Knot created in Cyprus’ region has been variously affecting Russia-Cyprus relations. Primarily as follows: first, Washington is apparently pursuing a novel embrace with Cyprus; second, Nicosia, confronted with Turkey’s unending belligerence, does not resist the embrace, thereby upsetting the traditionally professed “symmetry” in its relations with Russia; third, Moscow’s manifold rapprochement with Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey is ever-strengthening ...
... Athens FIR and Greek airspace since the 1970s. However, Greek-Turkish relations have also been marked by periods of détente and bilateral collaboration in many fields, because Athens banked on
appeasement
and Turkey’s “Europeanization”. Regarding Cyprus, Turkey has posed as eager to see the Island’s problem resolved through “bi-communal negotiations”. But, as my two recent RIAC analyses have shown, Erdogan’s methods –i.e. demanding a “solution” tailor-made for Turkey — are totally offensive,...
... mid-1950s and by Security Council Resolution 186/1964, the list contains Moscow’s immediate recognition of the Republic in 1960; Nikita Khruschev’s repeated warnings against Ankara’s threatened invasion in summer 1964; Soviet willingness to provide Cyprus military hardware to confront Turkey’s threats; diachronic opposition to Western designs to partition Cyprus; systematic calls to settle the Cyprus problem by an international conference according to international law, as against NATO’s self-serving fixations; immediate and unqualified ...
... majority. Moreover, since Cyprus became an EU-member-state in 2004, Turkey’s occupation of Cypriot territory amounts to occupation of EU territory. Given, however, the stark asymmetry in population, size of territory and geo-economic significance between Cyprus and Turkey, the latter has been favored by the “international community” (including the United Nations, Washington, London, and lately the European Union) in their efforts to “resolve” the Cyprus problem. Hence, the notorious “Annan plan”, engineered ...
... problems: for various reasons, its relations with both producer and consumer countries have been strained.
Turkey cannot boast that it has high-quality cooperative ties with Cyprus, Israel or Egypt. Its relations with Nicosia are at a low point due to the Cyprus question. It is telling that Turkey did not participate in the recent summits of the heads of state of the Eastern Mediterranean, where energy was the primary subject of discussion: the meetings were held between
the Republic of Cyprus, Egypt and Greece
and
the Republic of Cyprus,...
