Greek authorities were in “full readiness” on Tuesday as a new Turkish drillship, Abdulhamid Khan was expected to set sail for exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, around noon.
The drillship’s exact destination is expected to be revealed at a ceremony in Mersin.
The Greek authorities, are in full readiness and have already recorded the limited mobility, with two supply ships and two auxiliary ships of the Turkish navy rushing on Monday to the port of Tasoukou, where the Abdulhamid Khan is anchored.
Although it is not yet known where the searches will take place, pending the issuance of a Navtex, Athens is considering two scenarios.
The first is for the drillship to move between Turkey and the northern coast of the Republic of Cyprus and the second is for it to attempt to repeat the route followed by the Oruch Reyes in 2020.
In other words, to proceed to the international meeting point of the EEZs of Greece, Cyprus and Egypt and drill between Rhodes, Crete and Karpathos, putting into effect the illegal Turkish-Cypriot memorandum.
Athens, however, has signaled that it is determined not to accept any challenge to its sovereign rights and has made the situation known to its allies, who in turn have made supportive statements in the past twenty-four hours.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member since 2004, and considers a portion of the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as its own or belonging to the illegal regime, set up in the northern Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus.
Ankara sent on several occasions its seismic research vessel “Barbaros” to Cyprus’ EEZ, following the Republic of Cyprus’ decision, in 2011, to start exploratory offshore drilling. After May 2019, two Turkish drill ships, “Fatih” and “Yavuz”, conducted unauthorised hydrocarbon drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, at times in areas licensed by Cyprus to international energy companies. A third ship, “Kanuni” was eventually sent to the Black Sea, while Turkish officials announced that the country’s fourth ship, “Abdülhamid Khan” prepares to search for natural gas in the Mediterranean in August 2022.
In the past, the European Council called on Turkey to abstain from renewed provocations or unilateral actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, in breach of international law. The EU also expressed determination to use the instruments and options at its disposal to defend its interests.
Source: Cyprus News Agency