Dervish Eroglu — the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community said he would present a new plan to the U.N. secretary-general for gas explorations surrounding the divided island, resources that could change its economic landscape.
In an interview to Reuters — Eroglu — with the help of a translator was talking about a scheduled meeting he will have with Ban Ki-Moon.
Direct talks between the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been on hold for several months. Eroglu’s intention to bring a gas exploration plan to Ban is aimed at reviving negotiations.
Eroglu said he proposed using whatever is earned from any gas or oil to finance a reunification settlement.
But he would not elaborate on his ideas.
The illegally occupied areas signed a deal with state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation TPAO in April to launch onshore exploratory drilling.
Eroglu said that in the next five or six months, TPAO is expected to start drilling offshore to see if it can find gas deep in the eastern Mediterranean.
This is in response to Nicosia having licensed Noble Energy to explore an offshore block for natural gas in what it said was one of the biggest finds in years.
Eroglu said that he warned President Christofias at the table that if the Greek Cypriots started your drilling activities, then the Turkish Cypriots would engage in their own drilling activities in the waters around Cyprus.
Ankara dispatched naval ships to accompany its own seismic research vessel to explore in waters 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Cyprus drill site.
Reuters