Turkey doesn’t rule out force to halt drilling off Cyprus

Turkey could use its military forces to halt any exploratory gas drilling in waters off Cyprus that it claims as its own, Turkey’s foreign minister warns.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tells the pro-government A Haber news channel that Turkey “has the right to prevent” any unauthorized drilling in waters that it says fall within its own continental shelf.

Asked specifically if Turkey could use military means to stop such drilling, Cavusoglu says “of course.”

Part of the area that Turkey claims are waters where Cyprus has exclusive economic rights and where companies including France’s Total and Italy’s Eni are licensed by the east Mediterranean island nation to jointly carry out drilling.

A consortium made up of the two companies is licensed to conduct exploratory drilling in seven of Cyprus’ 13 “blocks” that make up Cyprus exclusive economic zone. The consortium has announced that it would proceed with a new round of exploratory drilling in the new year.

Other licensed companies looking for hydrocarbons inside Cyprus’ zone include ExxonMobil with partner Qatar Petroleum as well as a consortium made up of Texas-based Noble energy, Dutch Shell and Israeli Delek.

Turkey says its claim to a large swath of the Mediterranean is bolstered by an agreement it signed with Libya’s UN-recognized government that delineates the two countries’ maritime borders.

— AP