Egypt warns Turkey over eastern Mediterranean economic interests

CAIRO: Egypt on Wednesday warned Turkey against any infringement of its economic rights in the eastern Mediterranean under a maritime bor- der demarcation agreement signed in 2013 with Cyprus that allows explora- tion for gas in the area.
The discovery of the massive Zohr gas field in 2015 has spurred a race for exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, an area that is believed to hold big natural gas depos- its crucial for energy-hungry Europe.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared to raise objec- tions over the 2013 agreement when he announced that Turkey was plan- ning to start exploration work in the eastern Mediterranean soon.
Cavusoglu accused Greek Cypriots of conducting “unilateral hydrocarbon activities in the east- ern Mediterranean.” He was speaking in an interview with Greek Kathimerini newspaper published on Sunday.
“Turkish Cypriots, as co-owners of the island, have inalienable rights to the natural resources around it,” he told the newspaper.
In response, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid warned against any attempt to contest the 2013 accord and said it had been deposited with the UN.
“Abu Zeid warned against any attempt to infringe or diminish Egypt’s rights in that area,” the state- ment said, adding that any such
attempt “was rejected and would be confronted.”
Relations between Cairo and Ankara have been strained since then army chief Abdel Fattah El-Sisi top- pled Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass pro- tests against his rule.
Egypt has started production from the massive Zohr gas field, which was discovered by Italy’s Eni and has an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.