Visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres said in Cyprus Thursday that gas finds in the Mediterranean Sea were no threat to Turkey but a positive step for the region.
Visiting Israeli President Shimon Peres said in Cyprus Thursday that gas
finds in the Mediterranean Sea were no threat to Turkey but a positive step for
the region.
"We are going to use the gas the way peaceful and democratic people should
use it," said Peres during an official visit to the eastern Mediterranean
island, whose maritime exclusive economic zone borders that of
Israel
.
"We aren't going to waste it, we aren't going to play with it, we aren't
going to use it for the wrong purposes," he said.
In December,
Cyprus
and
Israel
signed an agreement defining their maritime border that allows the neighbors to
forge ahead in the search for energy resources in the eastern
Mediterranean
.
At the end of September,
U.S.
firm
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) began exploratory drilling for gas off divided
Cyprus
's
southern coast, ignoring Turkish warnings that it would retaliate by launching
its own explorations in the area.
Meanwhile,
Turkey
's
relations with
Israel
have
worsened since May 2010, when Israeli commandos stormed a convoy of six ships
trying to reach the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade,
killing nine Turkish activists.
Israel
's
closer ties with
Cyprus
in
the energy field have strained relations with
Ankara
even
further.
But Peres said: "Our discoveries are not against anyone; our discoveries
are for the people.
"We look upon gas, not as a power, but as an occasion to better the life
of the people. We shall do it peacefully," he said.
The visit of the veteran Israeli politician and Nobel Prize winner is a
landmark in burgeoning Cyprus-Israel relations, which haven't always been this
amicable.
Peres said
Israel
didn't want to forge alliances "based on military strengths but seek
cooperation based on goodwill.
"I never said that we are enemies to the Turks, we are friends with the
Turks," he said.
Turkey
repeatedly called on
Cyprus
to
postpone its gas exploration, saying the Greek Cypriot side has no right to do
so while the island remains split, thus leaving the Turkish north out of the
picture. In retaliation, it sent a ship of its own to carry out explorations,
drawing protests from
Cyprus
.
Cyprus
has
been divided along ethnic lines since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and
occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup in
Nicosia
aimed
at union with
Greece
.
It says its hydrocarbon search is to the benefit of all Cypriots and the island
has every right under international law to do so.
After talks with Peres Thursday,
Cyprus
President Demetris Christofias said
Turkey
's
negative reaction was "outside acceptable norms of behavior.
"We are witnessing once again the provocative and aggressive stance of
Ankara
,"
he said.
The United Nations and Washington have appealed for calm on the issue while the
European Union has urged
Turkey
not
to issue threats against member state
Cyprus
.
Both the EU and U.N. are worried that the energy row--which also involves
Greece
--could
derail
Cyprus
peace
talks that are faltering after three years of painstaking negotiations.
Noble has no exact estimate of the hydrocarbon deposits inside
Cyprus
's
exclusive economic zone, but has said seismic surveys were "very
favorable" indicating a "sizeable quantity."
Israeli company Delek Group Ltd. (DLEKG.TV) is a partner of Noble, which has
reported large reserves of natural gas in two Israeli offshore fields.
Delek and its Texan partner announced the discovery of 16 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas in the Leviathan gas field some 60 kilometers from
Cyprus
's
exclusive economic zone. It said to be one of the biggest finds in a decade.
Gas was also found in
Israel
's
Tamar block even closer to the Mediterranean island.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01