Cyprus presses on with oil search, warns Turkey on EU

Cyprus said on Tuesday it would push ahead with oil and gas exploration activities in the Mediterranean and warned that Turkey could face difficulties with its EU entry bid if it tried to stop them.
Cyprus — divided along ethnic lines after Turkey's 1974 invasion which followed a Greek-inspired coup — has accused Turkey of harassing two Panamanian-flagged vessels conducting seismic surveys for Cyprus in international waters on Nov. 13, and said a second incident occurred on Nov. 24.
Turkey said the exploration was encroaching its continental shelf, while Cyprus said the incidents occurred in a maritime zone it has rights over under international conventions.
"We will decisively defend the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus … and we have reported the provocative actions of Ankara to the United Nations and the EU," said Cyprus President Demetris Christofias.
Greek Cypriots represent Cyprus in the European Union, where they have veto rights over Ankara's aspirations to join.
"It is clear that such tactics on Turkey's part do not mirror its obligations under the (EU) negotiating framework. If it continues it will of course have an effect on the accession course of Turkey," Cypriot foreign minister Markos Kyprianou said.
The U.N. monitors a ceasefire line splitting Cyprus's ethnic Greek Cypriots in the south, and Turkish Cypriots in the north.
Cyprus says the initial incident occurred south-west of the island, in international waters in an area it has defined as its exclusive economic zone, and the second directly south.
Asked whether Cyprus would continue exploration, Christofias replied: "I think that is pretty obvious, since we had another harassment yesterday."
Cyprus angered Turkey last year by charting 11 offshore blocks south and south-east of the island, offering them to companies for exploration.
Turkey said the move could upset reunification efforts, since natural resources should belong to all residents of the island, Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Energy officials say they are negotiating exploitation rights with a U.S.-based company for one block. The Cypriot government plans to offer more blocks in a bidding process next year.