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Despite all the excitement about the promising hydrocarbon deposits announced by Italian Eni in Block 6 of the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone, the fact that Turkey continues its ‘gunboat policy’ south of the island will make it an even tougher task for Nicos Anastasiades’ new cabinet.
After the mild reshuffle, maintaining a handful of loyal associates in key positions and appointing a few party supporters in odd posts, the new government’s first task will be to mobilise all its friends and allies to return the pressure on Ankara.
Naturally, western Europe’s, the US and Russia’s vested interests in Turkey are far greater than any commercial deal or family passport that Cyprus could offer. Thus, the government will have to resort to traditional channels to drum up support, the main focus being on France and Italy that have a lot at stake with the Calypso and Egypt’s offshore Zohr gasfield developments.
Not that any military action will force Turkey’s forces to cower, but the active presence of the French and Italian navies ought to bring a much sought after balance missing from this area for a while.
As Israel ponders whether to re-establish its ties with Turkey in order to pump its own natural gas through underwater and then overland pipelines, so too, is Russia thinking about avoiding a head on clash with Turkey over the Syrian conflict.
That leaves Cyprus with its traditional ally, Greece, that too has a handful to deal with as Turkey continues to challenge the sovereignty of the Aegean islands.
The only alternative is for President Anastasiades to rely on the six Cypriot Euro MPs, who in turn need to exert pressure on the political groups in the European Parliament, which, together with the Commission has the ultimate say in releasing ‘aid’ funding for Turkey to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. The Italian and French MEPs, too, should be recruited to join the effort as they have a bigger say in their respective capitals.
Finally, the president has to put aside party interests, evident from some of the new appointees to the Council of Ministers, and call on the help of both the ruling Disy and the opposition Akel for a coordinated effort to deal with the issue through their partners in Europe, the EPP and the GEU Left.
The fact that 2019 and 2020 are both election years should, for once, be secondary to the national interests.
