Mammoth Cyprus Natural Gas Deposits

12/30/11

Invitation accepted

14 January 2012

New York - A letter by President Demetris Christofias was delivered to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon saying that he accepts the invitation addressed to him by the UN chief for a meeting on January 22, 23 and 24 at Greentree, Long Island.
The invitation concerns a meeting between the UN chief, President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.
President Christofias will be arriving in New York, accompanied by his wife, Elsie, on January 20 and will depart on January 26. The members of the Greek Cypriot negotiating team, Nicos Emiliou and Toumazos Tselepis, will be arriving in New York on January 18.

Ban letter

 U N Secretary general to President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and points out in his letter that the talks have entered their last stage, using the phrase “end of the game”. He also sets out the various possible steps forward, noting that Cyprus is due to take over the rotating EU presidency on July 1, therefore talks should conclude by then.

Energy Resources

Lebanon joins volatile Med gas scramble

 

Jan. 6, 2012  

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Lebanon has raised the stakes in the high-octane poker game under way in the natural gas-rich eastern Mediterranean by approving a law to administer offshore exploration and drilling, joining Israel, Cyprus and Turkey in a potentially explosive race for energy riches.

Turkey's threat is to send in its navy to stop Israel and Cyprus from joining forces to exploit the region's energy riches.

On top of this, Beirut claims parts of the Israeli gas fields lie in Lebanese waters. The two countries are technically at war.

The Turks, led by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claims Nicosia has no right to explore for gas because the Cyprus issue has not been settled.

The Greek Cypriots are increasingly aligned with Israel under a plan to jointly export their gas by pipeline to the energy-hungry European Union via Greece, thus sharpening tensions with Turkey.

Nobel Energy, which spearheads exploration off Cyprus as well, has already reported initial indications of at least 7 tcf of gas in Aphrodite.

Things are sure to get stirred up.

 

British Peer Points to UK Guarantor Responsibilities 07/14/09

Ahead of his parliamentary question on July 14th, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Watson of Richmond pointed out the UK's responsibilities as a guarantor nation of Cyprus to promote unity on the island.

"It is worth remembering that our original settlement with Cyprus leaves us the responsibilities of a Guarantor Power and, from a British as well as an EU perspective, we must do all we can to advance the prospects of unity in Cyprus," he was quoted as saying by www.epolitix.com

The comments come on the heels of positions stated yesterday by Cyprus President Demetris Christofias, who said that 'our position is that Cyprus does not need guarantees''. 

President Gül calls on UK to take urgent steps on Cyprus

ANKARA / NICOSIA  11/27/2011 

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has urged Britain, one of Cyprus’ guarantor powers, to take action to help solve the problem of the island’s division before Greek Cyprus assumes the EU’s rotating presidency in July 2012.

 I said that if the United Kingdom sincerely wants to take a step [on the Cyprus issue], it is just the time to do this. You will be able to take action until June 2012,” Gül was quoted as saying by private broadcaster CNNTürk.

The president returned to Turkey from an official U.K. visit last week.

Turkish president Gul in UK visit

20 November 2011

The Queen pictured with the president of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, following a reception in Whitehall last year

Britain forges closer links with Cyprus.

Britain has been a strong supporter of Turkey's desire to join the EU. 

Turkey would be the first secular nation with a majority Muslim population in the EU club, but its failure to normalise relations with the republic of Cyprus has blocked progress in the accession talks.

The Queen made a state visit to the republic in May 2008, less than six months after the Prince of Wales toured the country. The two royal trips highlighted the importance of Britain's relationship with the country.

 

Mideast turmoil puts eastern Med power struggle in spotlight  January 15, 2012

Turkey has 30,000 troops stationed in Cyprus, the UK also

has two extensive sovereign base areas on the Mediterranean island, occupying 98 sq miles (254 sq km) or about 3 percent of its territory, which it retained when Cyprus won independence in 1960.

Israel said earlier this week that it will assign the majority of its warships to protect its offshore drilling rafts in the area following the latest bust-ups between Israel and Turkey, in a vivid illustration of the escalating militarization of the region.  Veysel Ayhan, an expert on the Middle East at the Middle East Strategic Research Center (OSAM), says a decreasing US influence in the eastern Mediterranean has created a power vacuum in the region which various powers are rushing to fill.  Israel is attempting to build military ties with Greek Cyprus and Greece, Turkey’s traditional foes, in a move to isolate Turkey.  

Britain to retain its two Cyprus military bases

Reuters Dec 15, 2011

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will retain both its military bases in Cyprus following the completion of a review of their operations, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said on Thursday.

"The sovereign base areas are in a region of geo-political importance and high priority for the United Kingdom's long-term national security interests," he said in a written statement to parliament.

Britain has two extensive bases on the Mediterranean island, at Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which it kept when Cyprus won independence in 1960.

The bases would also play a role in the withdrawal of British military operations from Afghanistan, Hammond added, as Britain brings back its 9,500 troops by the end of 2014.

Britain has previously offered to return around half the territory if rival sides of the ethnically split island reached a peace deal.

EU leaders tell Turkey to 'respect' Cyprus 12/09/11   BRUSSELS - EU leaders are planning to tell Turkey to "fully respect" Cyprus when it takes over the rotating presidency next year after Turkey threatened to boycott meetings.  "The EU council calls on EU partners to fully respect the role of the rotating presidency of the council, which is a fundamental institutional feature of the Union provided for in the treaty," the 27 countries are planning to say, according to draft summit.

The statement comes after foreign ministers on Monday told Turkey to let Cyprus drill for oil in a part of the Mediterranean Sea also claimed by the largely unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). They urged it to avoid "any kind of threat or action directed against a member state" and backed Cyprus' "sovereign right" to "exploit [its] natural resources."

Turkey has said it will not go to any meetings chaired by Cyprus in its role as EU chairman in July 2012 unless the frozen conflict on the island is settled first - a development which has eluded diplomats for 37 years.

"This will be a half-presidency leading a miserable union," Turkish President Abdullah Gul told press last month.

The oil communique already annoyed Ankara, which says Nicosia should share blame for any tensions because it went ahead without consulting the TRNC.

Meanwhile, Turkey's ambassador to the EU, Selim Kuneralp, told this website ahead of the EU summit that Cyprus is playing its own part in spoiling EU-Turkey meetings.

He noted that until Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, Turkish leaders and ministers used to come regularly to EU summits and councils. But when French foreign minister Alain Juppe last week invited Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu to brief EU ministers on Syria "[EU foreign relations chief] Lady Ashton conducted a number of consultations with member states and the outcome was she did not find a consensus [to let him come]."

He added that Turkey has been asking the EU for the past year and a half to launch a new "structured dialogue" on foreign policy to no avail.

Instead, it gets frequent invitations to align itself with European External Action Service communiques on various topics at too short notice to respond.

"We are asked can you tell us within half an hour or one hour, or if you are lucky, one day, whether you are prepared to align yourself with this text, and it could be any subject under the sun ... It's not very satisfactory," he said.

The ambassador noted that one and a half years after the EEAS was launched, it has still not appointed a director to deal with Turkey, which is currently handled by a two person team - a head of unit and his deputy.

 

Mid-Point - March 21st 2013

God Bless

gail