Turkey on Wednesday rejected that drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus was illegal while claiming Nicosia and Athens were spoiled and mischievous children in a biased EU family.
Turkey’s foreign ministry said Turkish vessel Fatih had started drilling to the west of the island at the start of May and its Yavuz ship had recently arrived east of Cyprus and would also carry out drilling.
Cyprus condemned Turkey’s actions as a serious violation of international law.
The Yavuz drillship dropped anchor on Monday to the south of Cyprus’ Karpas peninsula, it prompted a swift response from Brussels which is mulling sanctions.
“We reject the statements by the Greek Foreign Ministry and EU officials which describe these activities of our country as illegitimate,” a Turkish foreign ministry statement said.
“It has become clear that the European Union is incapable of taking on a role as an impartial mediator in negotiation processes regarding a resolution to the Cyprus problem,” it added.
Ankara, which does not have diplomatic relations with Cyprus, says that certain areas in Cyprus’s offshore maritime zone, known as an EEZ, fall under the jurisdiction of Turkey or of Turkish Cypriots, who have their own breakaway state in the north of the island which is recognized only by Turkey.
Ankara claims the Fatih ship is drilling in fields within the continental shelf that Turkey had declared to the United Nations, and for which Turkish state energy company Turkish Petroleum (TP) had issued licenses in 2009 and 2012.
The Yavuz vessel was drilling on behalf of Turkish Cypriots in a field for which TP had issued a license in 2011, it said.
It said Greece deserved the title of “Europe’s spoiled child” and that EU member Cyprus had together with Athens for years violated international law and dragged the eastern Mediterranean toward instability.
“In fact, the title “spoiled child of Europe” belongs to Greece. And the hellion (mischievous child) of Europe is the Greek Cypriot Administration, which became a member of the EU against international law and thus destabilized the Eastern Mediterranean together with Greece for years.”
“Being a member of the European Union, allegedly representing the entire Island does not give the Greek Cypriot Administration the right to usurp the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots.”
EU diplomats are meeting in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss any possible sanctions on Turkey over the drilling before EU foreign ministers meet on Monday.
Nicosia argues that any measures were not an end in themselves but aimed at sending specific messages to Turkey that it can’t do as it pleased.
