‘No’ to linking gas with peace talks

By Elias Hazou
The government said on Tuesday it would not agree to any process linking the issue of natural gas to peace talks.
“Any proposal to discuss the issue of hydrocarbons prior to a settlement cannot be accepted,” government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said.
“The natural resources of the Republic belong to the state and it goes without saying, as it has been repeatedly affirmed, that following a settlement of the Cyprus issue the Turkish Cypriots will enjoy the benefits arising from… these natural resources.”
While Turkish provocations inside the Exclusive Economic Zone continue, the Greek Cypriot side cannot take part in peace talks, Christodoulides added.
“It is clear,” Christodoulides said, “that the illegal actions of Turkey within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus do not in any way intend to serve the interests of the Turkish Cypriots.”
He was speaking after a meeting between President Nicos Anastasiades and party leaders at the Presidential palace.
The purpose of the meeting was to devise a strategy aimed at foiling efforts to link hydrocarbons exploration to reunification talks.
Following the meeting, neither party leaders nor foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides made comments to the press.
A new meeting between party leaders with the President has been scheduled for next Tuesday.
Speaking to the state broadcaster earlier in the day, the government spokesman said Nicosia rejects any effort at linking hydrocarbons to the peace talks process, including a formula floated by UN Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide.
After the President broke off talks with the Turkish Cypriots, Eide proposed a twin-track process whereby an advisory panel would be set up to deal with technical aspects of managing natural gas and energy in a reunified island, parallel to the peace negotiations proper.
The bridging proposal was rejected by both sides; Turkish Cypriots had wanted natural gas to be incorporated directly into the talks, while Greek Cypriots dismissed outright any discussion of hydrocarbons prior to reunification.
It is not clear whether Eide will be pitching a new compromise arrangement when he arrives here next Monday.
According to the spokesman, if Nicosia did accept such proposals, then each time Turkey put forth a new demand it would despatch the Barbaros seismic research vessel into Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
From the government’s standpoint, Christodoulides said, “natural gas is the greatest incentive to Turkey to work toward a settlement of the Cyprus issue; any other formula would constitute a disincentive and the optimal scenario for those who are pushing for a Plan B.”
Urged by opposition parties to take a tough stance, Anastasiades has said he will not return to the negotiating table unless Turkey first cancels a marine advisory – issued last month – and withdraws its seismic research vessel from the EEZ.
Reports say that, confronted with a possible new proposal from the UN, the government will roll out a prior agreement, struck between President Demetris Christofias and former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, which provided for the two communities sharing in hydrocarbons revenues but only subsequent to a comprehensive settlement.
The war of words between Nicosia and Ankara meanwhile persisted, with Turkey’s foreign minister Ankara does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus nor the latter’s jurisdiction in the EEZ.
Turkey’s research ship, the Barbaros, is currently conducting surveys within the EEZ. The swathe reserved by Turkey for seismic surveys is adjacent to – but does not trespass into – offshore Block 9 where an Italian-Korean consortium is currently carrying out exploratory drilling for gas on behalf of Cyprus.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.