Drilling in East. Med statements unacceptable: Ministry

By Murat Temizer

ANKARA (AA) - The statements made on Turkey's drilling activities on "its own continental shelf" are unacceptable, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said in a written statement on Tuesday.

In response to statements made by internal and external actors on objections to Turkey's activities, the Ministry said the country's energy diplomacy is not conducted on the basis of commercial interests.

"Turkey knows that natural resources can play an important role in increasing peace and stability," the statement read.

"Our country advocates the role of energy as a source of peace rather than as a source of conflict," it noted.

The Ministry said that the country's energy policy, which attaches importance to both Turkey's and Europe's energy supply security, should be viewed as a benefit to all.

According to the statement, "Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus can't be excluded from the energy equation in the region."

Turkey, as one of the guarantor power on the island of Cyprus, along with Greece and the U.K. has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration’s unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean while asserting that Turkish Cypriots also have rights to the resources in the area.

"We invite you to take advantage of our country's win-win approach instead of fueling regional conflicts by taking steps that increase uncertainty and escalate tension," the ministry said.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.

The island has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including the collapse of a 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of the guarantor countries.