Greek Cypriot Parties Reject TRNC Hydrocarbon Proposal

Greek Cypriot party leaders on Tuesday rejected an offer from the Turkish Cypriot president to create a cooperation mechanism for joint exploration and profit-sharing of hydrocarbon resources around the island of Cyprus, according to local media.

Greek Cypriot news outlet sigmalive.com said the leader of the Greek Cypriot administration, Nicos Anastasiades, chaired a meeting of Greek Cypriot party leaders in Limassol.

After the meeting, Anastasiades's aide Vasilis Palmas made a joint announcement in the name of the party leaders.

Palmas said all parties rejected the Mustafa Akinci's offer in consensus.

He said Akinci's offer could not be accepted because it "disorientates" the issue away from the solution of the Cyprus issue and the need to immediately restart the negotiations.

The Akinci's proposal, sent to Anastasiades on Saturday via the UN, was for Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots to cooperate on hydrocarbon resources around the Island as equal partners of the island and share the income from these resources.

Turkey has consistently contested the Greek Cypriot administration's unilateral drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also has rights to the resources in the area.

Since this spring, Ankara has sent two drilling vessels -- Fatih and most recently Yavuz -- to the Eastern Mediterranean, asserting the rights of Turkey and the TRNC over the resources of the region.

The Turkish-flagged drillship, Fatih, launched offshore drilling operations this May in an area 75 kilometers (42 nautical miles) off the western coast of the island of Cyprus.

Athens and Greek Cypriots have opposed the move, threatening to arrest the ships' crews and enlisting EU leaders to join in their criticism.

In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus' annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the TRNC was founded.

The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the Cyprus dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one, held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland. -