ENERGY: Cyprus preparing response to Turkish Cypriot gas committee plan

Nicosia will give its view on a proposal by Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on a joint committee to co-manage Cyprus natural resources, after political party leaders have been briefed by President Nicos Anastasiades.

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The Cypriot President will convene a meeting of the National Council on July 16 in Limassol to brief party leaders on the content of the proposal.

“It is very important for the political party leaders to be informed about this issue in all seriousness… after the meeting…Nicosia will express its position on Akinci’s proposal,” an official source told CNA.

Anastasiades has received the proposal co-management of the natural resources which Akinci submitted to the UN Secretary General.

The Turkish Cypriot leader on the ethnically divided island of Cyprus reissued a proposal Saturday to establish a joint committee with Greek Cypriots in offshore gas drilling activities amid an escalating tussle over energy reserves.

A statement said the proposal aims to turn a gas search off Cyprus into a platform for cooperation rather than one of “tension and conflict.”

The committee would be made up of an equal number of members from both communities and would fall under U.N. auspices with the European Union participating as an observer.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said Saturday that it fully backed Akinci’s proposal, which it said would create a “new era of cooperation between the two sides.

This proposal comes as the EU is preparing sanctions against Turkey for dispatching a second vessel to drill for gas in waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights.

Brussels has condemned Turkey’s actions as an “unacceptable escalation” that breaches Cyprus’ sovereign rights and international law.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has warned Ankara would step up its drilling activities off Cyprus if the EU moves ahead with sanctions.

Nicosia argues energy issues should be part of reunification talks, and that Turkish Cypriot rights to the island’s energy wealth is protected.