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spanned cooperation in a range of other areas: economy, trade and investments, agriculture, education and science, IT and innovation, healthcare, crisis management, culture and tourism, Christodoulides said in a statement following the meeting. There are plans to hold a trilateral meeting between the three countries’ heads of state in Armenia in January. “Today’s meeting reflects clearly our joint determination to further expand and deepen our cooperation and to develop synergies that will benefit our countries and peoples,” said Christodoulides. “I only want to underline that this is a very important platform in amplifying the traditional friendship that exists between the three nations,” said Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. “It’s a historical friendship, it’s a civilizational value-based friendship, which we, as sovereign states, as nation states, translate into pragmatism, into cooperation to the benefit of our nations and our peoples. And I also want to emphasise that this is a cooperation, the objectives of which are peace, stability and cooperation for us and for the region.”
Ankara reiterated on June 7 that Turkish Cypriots have the right to a share of offshore resources off the coast of Cyprus, days after the Greek Cypriot government struck a revenue deal with a US firm over an eastern Mediterranean gas find. On June 5, Cypriot officials announced a production- sharing deal with US-based Noble Energy and partners for the commercial exploitation of Aphrodite, an offshore gas field southeast of Cyprus. The deal makes no reference to the Turkish Cypriots and they are not being offered a share of the revenues. Cypriot Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said the deal could bring Nicosia in excess of $9bn in revenue over the estimated 18- year lifespan of the reservoir. Turkey has sent drilling and exploration ships under the protection of its navy to drill in proximity to Cyprus. The EU and US have warned Ankara its drilling must not be within the exclusive economic zone claimed by the Greek Cypriots.
The European Union has agreed to grant Turkey €275mn to fund part of a 155-kilometre railway line from Istanbul to the Bulgarian border. The €1.1bn Halkali-Kapikule project is the fourth major railway to be partly financed by the EU. The bloc has in the past eight years awarded grants of around €840mn for Turkish railways. Under an agreement signed on June 11, funding for the construction of almost half of the Halkali-Kapikule line should be unlocked. Turkey’s State Railway (TCDD) plans to fund the rest. The project is to facilitate freight transportation between Asia and Europe. “I wish for this project, which will make our unification process with the EU all the more visible in every aspect, to be beneficial,” Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan remarked after the deal was signed. However, while Bulgaria is already an EU member state, Turkey stands absolutely no chance in the foreseeable future of becoming part of the bloc given that its accession process has been practically frozen by eurocrats disturbed by what they see as Ankara’s lack of regard for human rights. In March, EU lawmakers called to formally suspend Turkey’s accession talks. In May, the European Commision said Ankara’s bid to join the EU was fading as a result of “serious backsliding” on human rights, as well as on judiciary and economic policies.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras warned on June 21 that Turkey could face consequences from the European Union if it did not relent on its course of action challenging Cyprus’s sole right to explore for gas in an exclusive economic zone claimed by the Greek Cypriots.
At the EU summit in Brussels, leaders issued a statements saying Turkey’s drilling is “illegal” and that the bloc “stands ready to respond appropriately”. Potential measures mentioned included formally freezing Turkey’s EU accession talks, even though de facto they are already suspended given concerns over Ankara’s alleged lack of regard for human rights and democratic principles, and scrapping talks on expanding the EU-Turkey customs union.
The US has also issued warnings, calling on Turkey to desist from the drilling activities.
20 TURKEY Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com