July 27, 2021
The Turkish plan to reopen the town of Varosha, located on the eastern side of Cyprus and whose indigenous Greek Cypriot people left it nearly half a century ago, triggered criticism in Egypt.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a July 21 statement that the Turkish move is a violation of the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Egyptian position points at the ongoing tension between Cairo and Ankara, despite diplomatic efforts to mend bilateral relations.
The ministry said that Egypt reiterates its call for Turkey to abide by UN Security Council resolutions in this regard, and to refrain from any unilateral actions that would complicate things and elevate tension. In addition, Turkey should fully adhere to the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus dispute, in accordance with the international legitimacy’s resolutions.
Turkey faces rough road to normalization with Egypt Turkey’s reconciliation with Egypt is not likely to be easy, but progress after the first high-level meeting between the two sides could mark a new course in Ankara’s foreign policy and pave the way for its reconciliation with the Gulf heavyweights as well. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal (C) and his delegation meet with their Egyptian counterparts in the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Egypt s capital, Cairo, on May 5, 2021. Turkey and Egypt have begun slowly warming ties as they vie for regional primacy a decade after the Arab Spring, but analysts say deep-seated mistrust means full normalization will take time. The talks come nearly two months after Ankara established the first diplomatic contacts with Cairo since 2013 as part of wider efforts to mend fences with Middle Eastern rivals. - KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images
Brief Analysis
If the $1.1 billion deal goes ahead, it will strengthen Abu Dhabi’s claim to be a player in the East Mediterranean.
On April 26, Israeli company Delek announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the energy arm of Mubadala, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, which tentatively agreed to take over the firm’s 22 percent ownership stake in the Tamar offshore natural gas field. Delek has been trying to sell its stake for some time in order to meet government anti-monopoly requirements, since the company is also invested in Israel’s larger Leviathan gas field. Earlier this month, media reports speculated that Cairn Energy of the United Kingdom was interested in the share, but now Abu Dhabi will become the partner if the deal goes through.
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Close co-operation on the Mediterranean is needed to tackle common threats, with quiet mediation preferable to gunboat diplomacy, Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos said on a visit to Abu Dhabi this week.
But, he added, Turkey must respect Cyprus’s territorial integrity in disputed waters.
“This is a prerequisite for any kind of co-operation with Turkey. But we believe that only diplomacy and negotiations can solve our problems. We can’t change geography,” he said.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with
The National,
Mr Christodoulides pointed to deepening ties between Cyprus and its Middle East neighbours to tackle security threats in the region.
UAE plays Gas Forum card sending message to Turkey
The recent Emirati move is quite significant. It would mean that if Ankara managed to play a role in the Arab Gulf region by using Qatar, then Abu Dhabi can now find itself a role in the Mediterranean by its move to join the regional forum.
Friday 18/12/2020
Israeli energy minister (L), Greece’s energy Minister (2nd-L), Egyptian minister of petroleum (R) and Cypriot energy minister (2nd-R) attend the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), in Cairo, on January 16, 2020. (AFP)
CAIRO Turkey is beginning to have serious concerns after the United Arab Emirates joined the Cairo-based Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum as an observer.