PM Calls On Greek Cyprus To Restart Peace Talks, Offers Joint Committee

As part of attempts to restart peace talks over the divided island of Cyprus, Turkey has called for the establishment of a joint committee between Turkish and Greek Cypriots to protect the rights of both sides over the use of the island's natural resources.

“Our call is clear. We seek peace and intensified peace talks. If that is not possible now, we suggest the establishment of a joint committee and using natural resources in a way that promotes peace,” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said late on Tuesday.

Addressing a joint press conference with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, Davutoğlu stressed Turkey's and Turkish Cypriots' strong will for the establishment of peace on the island.

Davutoğlu said Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades has put forward a variety of excuses to gain time during the peace process, and that Turkey's seismic research has been the most recent one.

Turkey recently sent a seismic research vessel called the Barbaros to the region, which Greek Cyprus considers a violation of its territorial waters.

In earlier remarks on Tuesday, Davutoğlu said Turkey will not allow Greek Cyprus to monopolize the natural resources in and around Cyprus and vowed not to turn a blind eye to a fait accompli in a gas row.

“No one can shut us out of the Mediterranean. We may conduct drilling if necessary,” Davutoğlu said during a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting.

In early October, the Greek Cypriot government suspended talks on reunifying the ethnically divided island in response to Turkish plans to search for oil and gas in waters where the Cypriot government has already licensed companies to drill to search for oil and gas.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said on Tuesday that Turkey will not accept Greek Cyprus as the only side able to conduct gas and oil research, and added that he has suggested establishing a private company that will conduct searches on behalf of both sides.

“If they [Greek Cyprus] drill [for oil and gas off the shores of Cyprus], we will send a ship. If they stop, we will do so,” said Çavuşoğlu.

In the meantime, US Vice President Joe Biden called Anastasiades to update him on recent conversations he had with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Davutoğlu, the White House said on Sunday.

Biden was in Turkey to meet with Turkish officials over the weekend and left on Sunday for Washington, D.C.

“The Vice President updated President Anastasiades on his recent conversations with President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Davutoğlu of Turkey, and discussed developments in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the White House said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“The Vice President noted the need to de-escalate tensions in order to get back to a more constructive track in UN-mediated settlement talks on Cyprus and reinvigorate efforts to seek mutually beneficial solutions. Both leaders underscored their commitment to reunifying the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation,” said the White House.

During an address in İstanbul while visiting Turkey, Biden recalled that he traveled to Cyprus in May and met with both Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders, as the highest-ranking American in five decades to visit the island. “Today, the potential exists -- if the political will is there -- to reach a solution that benefits everyone on the island and in the region. Right now, that requires a focus on de-escalating tensions and returning to the negotiating table in Cyprus,” he said.

Turkey was subject to international criticism over its oil and gas exploration activities in northern Cypriot waters. In early November, members of the European Parliament (EP) said Turkey's threats undermine peace talks on the island and warned of a strain in the country's relations with the EU.

The Turkish Navy has warned that rules of engagement will be observed if Turkey comes across any threat from foreign warships in the east Mediterranean, amid rising tension in the region.

The EP members stressed that Turkey's maritime surveys must be seen as illegal and provocative, and called on the country to withdraw its vessel.

Turkish and Greek Cyprus have been trying for decades to end more than 40 years of division and strike an accord with UN support, but have multiple disagreements to resolve, from future governance to handovers of territory.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)