Honorable Members of the Press,
Valued Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Energy security has been a hot topic within the European Union in the last few years. The escalating tension between the European Union and Russia and past examples of how geopolitical power games resulted in supply shortages in the EU in the last decade are one of the main reasons why the European Commission recently listed “security of supply” as one of the three main objectives of the EU energy policy.
Recent discoveries of hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the shores of Israel and Cyprus, as well as the untapped potential off the coast of Lebanon could play a crucial role in the diversification of energy supply to the European Union. We as the Turkish Cypriots have been aware of this potential, as well as the role these hydrocarbon resources can play in bringing peace and prosperity to our troubled region through new interdependencies. Our policy vis-à-vis the energy potential of the Eastern Mediterranean has been reflective of this vision: Through letters to the United Nation as early as the year 2007 and many official statements and interviews afterwards, we have repeatedly called for an end to traditional power games and unilateral action and urged all parties to act in an inclusive manner.
With a view to ensuring that the hydrocarbon issue does not adversely affect the all-important comprehensive settlement negotiations, the then Greek Cypriot leader Christofias and the then Turkish Cypriot leader Talat agreed that the management of the natural resources in and around the island would be under the jurisdiction of the federal government after a solution.
However, few years after, the Greek Cypriot administration opted for unilateralism and took steps that jeopardized the inherent rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots, who as the co-habitants of the island have an equal say over these natural resources. On 20 September 2011, Noble Energy commenced drilling activities in “Block 12” under the license obtained from the Greek Cypriot administration. In response, on 22 September 2011, the Turkish Cypriot Council of Ministers adopted a decision identifying off-shore concession blocks as well as licensing Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) to carry out exploration for oil and natural gas on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot side. Turkey issued a NAVTEX on behalf of the Turkish Cypriots who do not have access to such instruments due to international isolation and TPAO conducted its first seismic survey with seismic exploration vessel “Piri Reis” in “Parcel G” licensed by the Turkish Cypriot Council of Ministers. The Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Christofias, did not use the Turkish NAVTEX - issued on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot side - as an excuse to suspend the talks. On the contrary, he attended tripartite meetings with the UN Secretary-General and the Turkish Cypriot leader for the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
In order to ease the mounting tension in the Eastern Mediterranean and find a fair and equitable solution to the emerging problem, the Turkish Cypriot side made a proposal to the Greek Cypriot administration on 24 September 2011 and a revised one on 29 September 2012, which envisage the establishment of a bi-communal committee that would tackle all aspects of the exploration and extraction of the hydrocarbon resources on and around the island. However these proposals were rejected by the Greek Cypriot side.
With the election of the current Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Anastasiades, the hydrocarbons issue became an instrument of regional tension and an excuse for the Greek Cypriot side to withdraw from the talks. On 23 September 2014, the Greek Cypriot side announced that Italian/South Korean consortium ENI-KOGAS would start drilling for hydrocarbons in “Block 9”. The Turkish Cypriot side asked the Greek Cypriot leadership to delay the drilling, since the move coincided with the UN’s efforts to expedite the comprehensive settlement talks by appointing a new Special Advisor.
On 3 October 2014, in an official statement, the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister announced that “the commencement of drilling activities in Parcel 9 and the signing of a Framework Agreement on the joint exploitation and mutual use of hydrocarbon reserves within its maritime borders with Egypt, particularly at a time when the United Nations Secretary-General has appointed a new Special Advisor on Cyprus, are indicative of the lack of will of the Greek Cypriot side towards reaching a settlement.” The statement further noted that the Turkish Cypriot side “would not remain idle while the Greek Cypriot side will continues its policies of exacerbating tension in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
As a follow up, Turkish Cypriot side authorized TPAO to conduct seismic surveys in new concession blocks identified by the Turkish Cypriot Council of Ministers. Turkey then issued a NAVTEX on 4 October 2014 on behalf of Turkish Cypriots. On 5 October 2014, citing the issuing of the NAVTEX and the seismic ship that did not even leave its port at that time and without any consultation with the UN or any of the relevant parties, the Greek Cypriot side abruptly announced that they withdrew from the comprehensive settlement talks. Mr. Anastasiades declared that the Greek Cypriot side would not return to the UN-led talks, as long as the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus is not respected – a precondition that is impossible for the Turkish Cypriot side to comply with, for reasons that are the basis of the Cyprus problem itself.
Before the expiration of the NAVTEX issued for the activities of BHP on 30 December 2014, The United Nations Secretary General's Special Adviser for Cyprus, Mr. Espen Barth Eide asked the Turkish Cypriot side to delay the issuing of the new NAVTEX that would be needed for the activities of BHP, with a view to creating a window of opportunity to convince the Greek Cypriot side to return to the negotiation table. The Turkish Cypriot side complied with Eide’s request and following the expiry of the NAVTEX, BHP left the area of its operation.
As a follow up, the Greek Cypriot side not only issued three new NAVTEX announcements and enlarged the area reserved for the drilling activities of ENI/KOGAS, but also moved the start of the new drilling by the said company from 6 January to 2 January, which was announced by the Greek Cypriot Energy Minister on the same day.
Despite the fact that BHP was anchored in a harbor in North Cyprus, with a press statement that was repetition of his known positions on the matter, Greek Cypriot leader announced on 5 January 2015 that he will not return to the negotiation table, effectively blocking any reconciliation attempts by the United Nations.
On 6 January 2015, in response to the Greek Cypriot leader’s announcement and expanded unilateral actions of the Greek Cypriot side in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey issued a new NAVTEX on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot side for the activities of BHP in areas designated by the Turkish Cypriot Council of Ministers.
These events proved again that the Greek Cypriot side is not interested in pursuing the vision of cooperation that I mentioned at the beginning of my speech, but is rather a stark example of their preference to use the hydrocarbon issue as a leverage for maximalist gains at the negotiations, similar to their accession to the European Union a decade ago, where now they use their membership to impose their positions even in areas of potential cooperation, such as the registration of Hellim/Halloumi, our common traditional cheese product, as a Product of Designated Origin. The issue at hand is not merely a disagreement on the natural resources, but instead is the difficulty of the Greek Cypriot administration with the idea of power sharing through a settlement within the established UN parameters.
While retaining our forward looking outlook, sometimes it is necessary to look at the past for lessons. We must not forget that the greatest strides in the road to a solution were taken in the years after the decisions of the international community to lift the restrictions on the Turkish Cypriots, in the aftermath of the overwhelming "no" vote by the Greek Cypriots to the Annan Plan. In this regard,
- the report of the then Secretary General dated 28 may 2004,
- reports of the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee,
- the statements of the Council of Europe,
- the decisions of European Council of Ministers and the European Commission, as well as the
- inclusion of the Turkish Cypriot side into the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Organization of Islamic Conference as observer state,