The Latest Turkey News

Turkey warns companies against Cyprus gas search

admin — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:37:25 +0000

By SUZAN FRASER

ANKARA, Turkey

Turkey on Friday called on major international oil and gas companies seeking licenses to search for gas deposits off Cyprus to withdraw their bids, saying it will not allow exploration to go ahead and threatening to ban them from Turkish energy projects.

Companies such as Russia’s Novatec, Italy’s ENI, France’s Total and Malaysia’s Petronas are among 15 firms and consortiums seeking licenses to carry out exploratory drilling off southern Cyprus. The island has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south since a 1974 Turkish invasion that followed a coup by supporters of unity with Greece.

Turkey says an offshore gas search by the Greek Cypriot government flouts the rights of the Turkish Cypriots and last month began exploratory drilling of its own. Last year, it sent a warship-escorted research vessel south of Cyprus, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that his government would “retaliate even more strongly” to any further search for mineral deposits around the island.

The small Mediterranean island is reeling from Europe’s financial crisis and hopes to tap energy sources, both to meet its own energy needs in future decades and for export.

A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said Friday that some of the fields in question “conflict” with Turkey’s continental shelf while others overlap with areas Turkey and Turkish Cypriots plan to explore.

“As announced in the past, Turkey will not allow any activity in these fields,” the statement said. “We call on the countries concerned and the oil companies to act with common sense, not to engage in activities in maritime fields that are under dispute due to the Cyprus issue and to withdraw from the bidding.”

It said the companies would be held responsible for any tensions that arise from exploration in fields under dispute and would be barred from Turkish energy contracts.

“It will be out of the question for companies that cooperate with (southern Cyprus) to be included into energy projects in the future,” the ministry said.

Italy’s ENI, which is involved in pipeline projects in Turkey, refused to comment on the Turkish threat. There was also no immediate comment from Novatek and Total.

Cyprus’ Foreign Ministry dismissed Turkey’s threats as unfounded and contrary to international law. It said the threats won’t deter Cyprus from pursuing its gas search.

In a statement, the ministry alleged Turkey “is attempting to impose its expansionist aims on Cyprus through gunboat diplomacy” and added that “An occupying force cannot dictate the policy of an independent and sovereign country.”

Cyprus’ commerce minister said last week companies from Canada, Britain, Norway, Israel, South Korea and the United States had applied for a license to drill, surpassing the small island nation’s expectations.

The companies are bidding in a second round of licensing off the Mediterranean island. In 2007, U.S. firm Noble Energy was the only company to seek a license to drill during an initial round of licensing. Last year, it discovered a natural gas field estimated to be at 5-8 trillion cubic feet (140-230 billion cubic meters).

Cyprus’ government said it is scheduled to appraise all bids by the end of the year. Licenses would be granted by mid-2013 following negotiations with the winning bidders.

Turkey Moves to Revive Its EU Bid

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:54:05 +0000

By JOE PARKINSON

ISTANBUL—Turkey is seeking to revive its stalled bid to join the European Union, at a time of mounting fears its neighbor and longtime rival, Greece, could become the first country forced to exit the euro zone.

Ankara has in recent days signaled that the departure of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a leading critic of Turkey’s EU bid, could reignite the candidacy of one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Socialist François Hollande ascended to the French presidency on Tuesday.

On Thursday, Turkey and the EU are set begin talks aimed at bringing Ankara’s membership bid back on track. This week Turkey’s government sent a set of draft bills to Parliament, including measures to improve human rights in the country, a move interpreted as laying the groundwork for boosting its bid.

“With the coming to power of Mr. François Hollande, we are all hoping that a new course in the Turkish-EU relations will gain momentum,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

Turkey’s speedy moves to revive its EU bid, while Greece’s political paralysis dominates headlines, speaks to how the fates of the neighbors have appeared to invert in recent years. That divergence has additional significance given a century of rancor between the two sides, including an ongoing standoff over control of Cyprus.

Turkey’s economy, long stricken by crisis and international bailouts, is booming; it expanded 8.5% in 2011. Ankara is flexing its regional diplomatic muscle. In Greece, where citizens long enjoyed a high standard of living cushioned by a generous welfare system, an economic crash has led to repeated international bailouts and violent street protests.

This fact hasn’t been lost on Turkey’s politicians or press, which have repeatedly contrasted Ankara’s stellar rebound from recession with Greece’s deepening economic woes.

In March, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said the only way Greece could escape its malaise was to dramatically boost trade ties with fast-growing Turkey.

Some Greek politicians have even said Athens should look to its old adversary across the Aegean as a model. Last year, then-Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou attempted to herd the country’s legislators into voting for an austerity package that was triggering riots. Citing Turkey’s successful restructuring after a 2001 banking crisis, he asked: “Why can’t we do what our neighbors the Turks have done?”

In 2011, Turkey imported more than $2.5 billion worth of goods from Greece, more than double the level in 2009. Turkish companies are now showing interest in buying up assets as the Greek government looks to privatize state-run companies across the energy, infrastructure, tourism and real-estate sectors, according to Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board, a business lobby group.

Turkey’s politicians like to make contrasts with Greece to score domestic political points, analysts said.

“Part of this is for domestic consumption, to show that although things aren’t perfect in Turkey, they’re much better than in Greece. It’s an effective strategy,” said Atilla Yesilada, a partner at Istanbul Analytics, a political-research consultancy.

“But in the short term the EU is completely preoccupied with its own crisis and has no way to chart a new course for Turkish membership,” he said.

Write to Joe Parkinson at joe.parkinson@dowjones.com

Turkey – Factors to Watch on May 15

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:05:30 +0000

ISTANBUL |
Tue May 15, 2012 1:26am EDT

ISTANBUL May 15 (Reuters) – Here are news, reports and
events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Tuesday.

The lira was at 1.8086 against the
dollar at 0618 GMT, little changed from 1.8082 late on Monday,
after hitting its lowest since April 11 at 1.8120.

The yield on Turkey’s benchmark bond closed
at 9.56 percent, slightly up from a previous close at 9.52
percent.

Turkey’s main stock index closed 1.73 percent down
at 57,853 points, almost in line with a 1.92 percent dip in the
MSCI emerging markets index.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Shares and commodities fell again on Tuesday as investors
sought refuge from the political turmoil fuelling fears of
Greece’s exit from the euro and threatening to undo progress
made so far to solve Europe’s debt crisis.

The euro slipped to a four-month low of $1.2815 and
the risk-sensitive Australian dollar hit a five-month low of
$0.9945. The U.S. dollar and the yen, perceived as safe
haven currencies for their relative stability, stayed well bid,
with the dollar index measured against major currencies
scaling a four-month peak of 80.739.

FEBRUARY UNEMPLOYMENT

Turkish Statistics Institute will announce three month
average jobless rate, for the Jan-Feb-March period. The
unemployment rate had risen to 10.2 percent in the prior period.

APRIL GOVERNMENT BUDGET BALANCE

Finance Ministry will announce the budget numbers. March
budget deficit was 5.5 billion lira.

ISBANK

Turkish lender Isbank plans to issue lira bonds worth up to
550 million lira ($303.78 million), with an option to raise the
amount to 700 million lira depending on demand, Isbank said in a
filing to the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

MIGROS TURK

Turkish supermarket chain said sale of its unit Tansas to a
group is out of question, Migros said in a statement with the
Istanbul Stock Exchange.

DOGAN ENERJI

Dogan Enerji, the energy unit of Turkish conglomerate Dogan
Holding, agreed to buy a 60 percent stake in oil
retailer Full, Dogan Holding said in a filing to the Istanbul
Stock Exchange.

TURKIYE FINANS

Turkish Islamic bank Turkiye Finans secured a $350 million
murabaha loan, and plans to issue $300 million sukuk at the end
of the year, general manager Derya Gurerk said late on Monday.

Note: For a list of forthcoming events, see.

For other related news, double click on: Turkish politics
Turkish equities Turkish money Turkish
debt Turkish hot stocks Forex news All
emerging market news All Turkish news

For real-time quotes, double click on: Istanbul National-100
stock index, interbank lira trading, lira bond
trading.
($1 = 1.8105 Turkish liras)

(Writing by Seda Sezer)

Turkish journalists detained in Syria released

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:21:21 +0000

Istanbul (CNN) — Two Turkish journalists were released from a Syrian jail and flew Saturday to Istanbul via Tehran, as part of what appears to be a prisoner swap between Turkey and Iran through intermediaries in Syria.

Iran’s foreign minister called his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, on Saturday morning to inform him of their release, Turkey’s foreign ministry spokesman said.

“We are sending a plane to pick them up,” said the spokesman, Selcuk Unal. The private aircraft then carried the pair from Tehran to Turkey.

Mustafa Ozkose, the father of one of the journalists, expressed overwhelming joy.

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“When a person is this happy, it becomes impossible to express it in words,” he said.

For almost two months, writer Adem Ozkose and freelance cameraman Hamit Coskun were feared dead. They disappeared on March 10 while on assignment in Syria’s bloody Idlib province.

“They were apprehended by Syrian authorities while they were performing their journalistic duties, and that’s why they were brought down to Damascus,” Unal said.

Soon afterward, Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Damascus and closed its embassy. The once-cozy relationship between the two neighbors has deteriorated dramatically over the last year, as Turkey denounced a Syrian government crackdown on protesters. The United Nations says more than than 9,000 people have been killed in the 14-month Syrian crisis.

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation, a Turkish Islamist charity organization widely known by its Turkish acronym IHH, took the lead in negotiations to determine the two journalists’ whereabouts.

The group late Saturday posted on Twitter a photo of Coskun embracing his mother in Istanbul.

Last week, an IHH delegation distributed video of Ozkose and Coskun, who both looked stunned and relieved but also healthy during a meeting with IHH officials. The IHH revealed that the two journalists were being held in a Syrian prison in Damascus, and that the organization had been negotiating with Syrian and Iranian officials to secure their release.

“By that stage, the Syrian authorities were also convinced that these people were journalists and were willing to release them,” said Serkan Nergis, a spokesman for IHH.

“The Syrian opposition, as a goodwill gesture, released two more Iranians,” Nergis added. “But this is not in exchange for Adem (and Coskun),” he insisted. “This is a goodwill gesture.”

Turkey, which hosts Syrian opposition groups as well as tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, has previously helped broker the release of at least two groups of captive Iranians.

While the Syrian uprising led to the rupture of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Syria, Iran continues to be a staunch supporter of the Syrian regime.

CNN’s Talia Kayali contributed to this report.

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Turkey Current-Account Gap Narrows as Bank Raises Funding Costs

admin — Fri, 11 May 2012 07:32:48 +0000

Turkey’s current-account deficit
narrowed for a fifth month after the central bank tightened
monetary policy to curb domestic spending that helped push the
gap to a record.

The March deficit was $6.1 billion, the same as the median
estimate in a Bloomberg survey of eight economists, compared
with $9.6 billion in the same month last year, the central bank
in Ankara said on its website today, The deficit was $4.2
billion in February.

Turkey’s current-account gap swelled to a record of more
than 10 percent of gross domestic product last year as a booming
economy sucked in imports. The lira’s slide in the second half
of the year, coupled with the central bank’s monetary tightening
to rein in loan growth, have helped narrow the gap since
October.

“We are at or very close to the end of the sequential
improvement in external deficit, given the central bank’s lira-
supportive policy stance, high oil prices and gradual pick-up in
economic activity,” Inan Demir, chief economist at Finansbank
AS in Istanbul, said in e-mailed comments. He said the gap will
shrink to $63 billion, or 7.7 percent of GDP, by year-end as
“base effects will continue to support a narrowing.”

Central bank Governor Erdem Basci, who varies funding costs
for banks on a daily basis within a so-called rate corridor, has
tightened policy since February, pushing borrowing rates on the
interbank market above 10 percent this week.

The lira has gained about 5.5 percent against the dollar
this year, after an 18 percent slump in 2011. The currency
dropped 0.5 percent to 1.7923 per dollar at 9:50 a.m. in
Istanbul.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Emre Peker in Ankara at
epeker2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Andrew J. Barden at
barden@bloomberg.net

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Turkey – Factors to Watch on May 9

admin — Wed, 09 May 2012 06:05:42 +0000

ISTANBUL |
Wed May 9, 2012 1:37am EDT

ISTANBUL May 9 (Reuters) – Here are news, reports and
events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Wednesday.

The lira stood at 1.7816 against the
dollar at 0530 GMT, compared with a level of 1.7810 late on
Tuesday.

The yield on the benchmark bond maturing on March 5, 2014
closed at 9.53 percent, up from a previous
close at 9.46 percent, despite its successful tap where the
treasury borrowed 995.2 million lira ($565 million) from
domestic markets, including non-competitive sales, than a
forecast of 845 million lira.

The main stock index closed 0.1 percent down at
58,749 points, outperforming a 1 percent slide in the MSCI
emerging markets index.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Shares, gold and oil fell and the euro remained pressured on
Wednesday as Greece struggled to form a government two days
after an election, heightening the risk that a hard-won bailout
deal could be scrapped. Radical leftist Alexis Tsipras meets the
leaders of Greece’s mainstream parties on Wednesday to try to
form a coalition government, an effort seen as doomed after he
demanded that pledges made in exchange for an European
Union/International Monetary Fund rescue package be torn up.

ISTANBUL AS FINANCIAL CENTRE

The Institute of International Finance and Akbank to hold a
conference entitled Building Istanbul as a Key Financial Center,
with Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Mehmet
Simsek and Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci among those
attending.

CASH BALANCE

The Treasury will release data on the April cash balance
(1430 GMT).

AVEA

Mobile phone company to hold news conference (0700 GMT).

YAPI KREDI

The lender will release first quarter results.

SHENHUA $2 BLN INVESTMENT

Haberturk newspaper says the Chinese mining and energy
company Shenhua wants to invest $2 billion
in the construction of a 2000 MW power station at Iskenderun in
southern Turkey.

Note: For a list of forthcoming events, see.

For other related news, double click on: Turkish politics
Turkish equities Turkish money Turkish
debt Turkish hot stocks Forex news All
emerging market news All Turkish news

For real-time quotes, double click on: Istanbul National-100
stock index, interbank lira trading, lira bond
trading.

(Writing by Daren Butler)

Turkish Leader Visits Syrian Refugees

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:59:40 +0000

Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey—Treated to a hero’s welcome, Turkey’s prime minister met Syrian refugees Sunday for the first time since his country opened its doors to tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing their government’s crackdown on a popular uprising.

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to defend the rights of the Syrian people, saying they were close to achieving success. He was greeted by joyous Syrians at the largest refugee camp near the border.

Mr. Erdogan has urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to quit and has encouraged the Syrian opposition to unify and present a credible political alternative. His visit to the border region comes before a parliamentary election in neighboring Syria, where the government’s heavy-handed reaction to civilian protests more than a year ago is threatening to spawn a full-scale militarized conflict.

Syrian opposition leaders on Sunday dismissed the elections as a cynical attempt by Mr. Assad to hold on to power and urged voters to stay away

“Bashar is losing blood day by day,” Mr. Erdogan said in an address to thousands of joyous Syrians at the camp near the town of Kilis. “Sooner or later, those who have oppressed our Syrian brothers will be accounted for before their nation. Your victory is close.”

Many refugees used their mobile phones to film or took pictures of Mr. Erdogan, who addressed the crowd from the top of a bus as snipers stood on rooftops. The camp, housing more than 9,500 refugees, came under cross-border fire by Syrian forces last month in an incident that left two refugees dead.

It is the most organized and well-equipped camp: refugees stay in white temporary housing units instead of tents as in nine other camps along the border. It looks like a small town with wide streets, soup kitchens, a health clinic and even a makeshift barber shop. A mosque with a minaret is located just outside the camp.

Mr. Erdogan assured the refugees that they are Turkey’s guests until they decide to return home in safety, as the refugees burst into applause. He thanked them with a few words in Arabic.

Turkey hosts around 23,000 Syrian refugees who have fled Mr. Assad’s crackdown, which is estimated to have left more than 9,000 people dead.

Before visiting the camp on Sunday, Mr. Erdogan said: “Until the will of the Syrian people comes to power, we will continue to defend our brothers’ rights there and welcome our brothers who come here with open arms. Inshallah (with God’s will) these gloomy days will be overcome.”

The Syrian regime has portrayed Monday’s vote as a sign of its willingness to carry out reforms, but Syrian opposition leaders and activists are skeptical. A U.N.-brokered truce last month has failed to halt the violence in Syria.

Monday’s election comes more than three weeks after an April 12 cease-fire aimed at paving the way for political talks between Mr. Assad and those trying to bring him down.

The truce, brokered by special envoy Kofi Annan, has failed to take hold, though U.N. observers say it is helped bring down the level of violence. Regime forces continue to attack opposition strongholds and carry out arrests, while refusing to withdraw troops and tanks from streets, as required by the Annan plan. Rebel fighters continue to target soldiers in shootings and bombings.

Turkey, NATO’s biggest Muslim member, doesn’t want to be seen as a bystander to atrocities on its doorstep, but it is also careful not to be dragged into the conflict. Turkey has been relentlessly calling for international consensus on Syria, which simply doesn’t exist.

Turkey court gives Ferguson time to settle -media

admin — Sat, 05 May 2012 03:56:29 +0000

ISTANBUL |
Fri May 4, 2012 5:42pm EDT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish court trying British duchess Sarah Ferguson for secretly filming the treatment of mentally handicapped children adjourned after opening on Friday to give time for an out-of-court settlement, Turkish media said.

Ferguson, who holds the title Duchess of York as the ex-wife of Britain’s Prince Andrew, was not present in court. She signaled when the charges were brought in January that she would not return to face trial. The offences carry a maximum sentence of up to 22 years and six months.

Ferguson had posed as a charitable donor to visit centers for mentally handicapped children in Turkey and Romania, followed by hidden cameras, to highlight poor conditions.

The documentary, made in 2008 by the British channel ITV, reported cases of children being tied to beds and disabled children being neglected by overworked staff.

The prosecution accused Ferguson of violating the privacy of five children, and the heavy sentence was based on the premise that five sentences would run consecutively.

Ferguson’s Turkish lawyer, Cansu Sahin, told the Ankara criminal court that the duchess wanted to reach a settlement, the broadcaster CNN Turk reported on its website. Neither the court nor Ferguson or her representatives could be reached for comment.

Ferguson apologized in January for any embarrassment the documentary had caused in Turkey.

Adjourning the case, the court warned Ferguson to attend the next hearing, CNN Turk reported.

The case against Tom Jones and Chris Rogers, filmmakers who had worked with Ferguson on the documentary, was continuing separately, CNN Turk said.

The poor conditions in state orphanages and psychiatric centers in Turkey have been the subject of several domestic and international investigations.

After the program aired, Turkish officials accused Ferguson of smearing Turkey’s image with the aim of increasing opposition to its bid to join the European Union.

The predominantly Muslim country began EU membership negotiations in October 2005, but talks have slowed to a halt because of opposition in some member states, and what the EU says is lack of reforms in human rights, freedom of expression and other areas.

(Writing by Seltem Iyigun; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Turkey arts under pressure from conservative gov’t

admin — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:39:58 +0000

By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press
–
6 hours ago

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — In a recent play in Turkey, two actors wore trench coats in their role as assassins posing as perverts planning to flash girls near a school.

The scene and its themes of nudity and sexual depravity are at the center of a debate over freedom of expression in Turkish arts, where the Islamic-rooted ruling party has become increasingly critical of plays and television shows deemed to violate moral or religious values.

Turkey, a candidate for European Union membership, is less strict than many other nations in the Muslim world. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday backed a move by Istanbul’s Islamist mayor to take over decision-making at Istanbul City Theaters, a theater troupe which is funded by the city and staged the play that outraged conservative critics.

Erdogan also threatened to privatize state-run theaters — essentially cutting their funding — in response to resignations and protests by secular-minded artists against alleged political interference.

That stoked fears that the government, which has a strong electoral mandate, might be seeking to put an Islamic stamp on daily life in this predominantly Muslim country that has long been proud of its secular political system.

Erdogan for his part accuses artists of arrogance.

“They have started to humiliate and look down on us and all conservatives,” Erdogan said.

The prime minister’s remarks triggered an overnight sit-in by hundreds of artists outside an Istanbul theater. The protest came days after hundreds of artists, beating drums, marched through a main city street.

Artists marched again on May Day with banners that read: “Oh Sultan! Take your hands off theaters.”

“This is political interference on freedom of art,” said Nazif Uslu, an actor and official from the Theater Actors’ Association of Turkey.

The scene with the flashers comes in the political comedy “Secret Obscenities” by Chilean playwright Marco Antonio de la Parra. It criticizes human rights abuses in Chile during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Yildirim Fikret Urag, the Turkish director of “Secret Obscenities,” said the play will likely be removed from the repertoire of Istanbul City Theaters due to pressure from the board of the pro-Islamic municipality.

The play, which was restricted to audiences above the age of 16, was described as “vulgarity at the hands of the state” by Iskender Pala, a conservative columnist for daily Zaman newspaper. Pala, however, admitted he did not watch the play but only read its script.

“The play has nothing to do with obscenity, it is pure black humor,” Urag said. The play was staged more than 70 times between February and mid-April as originally scheduled. “I think, the word ‘obscenities’ in its name and the tag of plus 16 are used as excuses to seize control of theaters.”

Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay sought to reassure the public.

“I wish for everybody to get rid of this worry. The artistic and cultural life in Turkey will in no way go backward,” Gunay said.

But Erdogan suggested that state support for theater should be contingent on stagings that meet state approval. “If support is needed, then as the government we provide sponsorship to plays we want,” he said.

Erdogan’s proposal came after Mustafa Isen, secretary general of the presidential palace, proposed establishing conservative artistic norms. Critics have alleged that the government wants more plays by Islamist playwrights.

The government is currently scrutinizing a weekly TV police show, Behzat C, in which the lead character, a homicide detective, drinks alcohol, curses, beats suspects and had an out-of-wedlock affair.

“The channel that broadcasts Behzat C has been twice punished for airing programs promoting alcohol and cigarettes and which could do possible harm to moral development at an hour when young people can watch it,” Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said. “We’re monitoring the broadcasts closely.”

The broadcaster, Star TV, said it has no plans to remove the show. But Muzaffer Balci, the president of the country’s Green Crescent Society, which fights alcohol and tobacco consumption, has predicted it will not last.

“A policeman who is always holding a bottle of alcohol in his hand cannot be promoted as a hero,” he said on his organization’s website.

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Turkey approves gas exploration in Cypriot waters

admin — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:15:35 +0000

Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:28pm EDT

* Move set to fuel existing row over energy reserves

* One area in contested region near Greek territory

* Turkey began exploration in north Cyprus last week

By Jonathon Burch

ANKARA, April 30 (Reuters) – Turkey’s cabinet has given
approval for Turkey’s state-run oil firm to carry out oil and
gas exploration in six offshore areas around the island of
Cyprus, drawing condemnation from the Cypriot government which
lays claim to the territory.

The move could escalate an ongoing row between Turkey and
the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus over who has
the right to tap hydrocarbon deposits in the eastern
Mediterranean.

Approval was given for the Turkish Petroleum Corporation
(TPAO) to explore in six areas in Cypriot waters to the north,
west and east of the island, according to Turkey’s official
gazette.

The gazette did not specify the exact coordinates of the
areas, but said they were outside Turkish waters – three areas
off Turkey’s southern coast of Adana, one off Antalya, one off
Hatay and another off the southwestern coast of Mugla.

The Cypriot government condemned the announcement, saying
the areas were within its own Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

“The decision by Turkey to grant oil licences in areas which
come under the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus are a continuation
of her actions which violate international law, and,
specifically, the law of the sea,” government spokesman Stefanos
Stefanou said.

“The government of the Republic of Cyprus condemns these
actions and the provocations of Turkey and is taking all
indicative action to defend the country’s sovereign rights,” he
said in a written statement.

GREECE

The announcement could also strain relations with Greece.
Turkey’s Mugla province is located where the Aegean and
Mediterranean seas converge, a highly-contested area where
dozens of Greek islands lie only several kilometres off the
Turkish coastline.

Tensions resurfaced last September when Cyprus began
drilling in a southeast offshore area adjoining a gas field in
Israeli waters reputed to be the world’s largest find in the
past decade.

Turkey contests a Cypriot-Israeli accord signed in 2010 to
create exclusive economic zones in the waters between them.

It also argues that Cyprus should not be exploiting natural
resources until a settlement is reached between the Cypriot
government and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state for the
reunification of the island, and that any revenues should
benefit both communities.

Cyprus has said that any money earned from a gas find would
be used for the good of both sides regardless of whether a
settlement had been reached.

However, in retaliation, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot
administration signed their own continental shelf agreement in
September, permitting TPAO to start exploration north of the
island.

TPAO also began drilling in an onshore site on the north of
the island last week near the town of Trikomo during a ceremony
attended by Turkey’s energy minister. Cyprus and its close ally
Greece criticised the move.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when the Turkish
military invaded the island after a short-lived Greek Cypriot
coup engineered by the military junta then in power in Athens.

Turkey still keeps about 30,000 troops in the north and is
the only nation which recognises the self-declared Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Both sides have made little progress in negotiations since
the United Nations persuaded them to renew talks late last year
and the dispute is one of the main stumbling blocks in Turkey’s
efforts to join the European Union.

Frustrated by the lack of progress, Turkey has said if there
was no solution by July 1 when Cyprus takes over the European
Union presidency, it would suspend dialogue with the presidency
until it passes to another EU member in 2013.

(Additional reporting by Michele Kambas in Nicosia; Writing by
Jonathon Burch; Editing by Michael Roddy)