Ankara is recruiting underground game and illegal means in order to overturn the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, removing Egypt from the framework of the cooperation between Cyprus and Greece. The Turkish government's ongoing public statements and positions on co-operation and consultation with the Egyptian government on the delimitation of maritime zones have the clear aim of creating shadows. But Ankara's actions are not limited to this part, as the information speaks of war on various levels. Something that was conveyed the day before yesterday to the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, whose visit to Cairo, largely clarified the big picture around the issue.
According to reports, the Egyptian government is aware of actions by Turkish services to strengthen the “Muslim Brotherhood” aimed at overthrowing Egyptian President Al Sisi. The Turkish state considers that the presence of Al Sisi in the leadership of Egypt does not allow the cooperation of the two countries and does not serve the interests of Turkey. The Egyptian president has, moreover, shown with his foreign policy so far, the choice of coexistence and cooperation with the axis of Greece and Cyprus. Therefore, it is an obstacle for Turkish plans. On the contrary, with the Muslim Brotherhood in power, Turkey will be able to have full control of the region, possibly attempting to create a memorandum, in line with the Turkish-Libyan one or another agreement between the two countries that will overturn the plans so far. and will make it the same dominant player in the Eastern Mediterranean.
SEE ALSO: Clears the landscape with Egypt
At the same time, there is official pressure on the Al Sisi government from the Turkish government for cooperation and dialogue that will lead to some kind of agreement on the maritime area.
The Greek Foreign Minister's discussions on the issue of marine plots also resulted.
Satisfaction prevails in Athens for the results of Nikos Dendias' meetings in Egypt. According to Greek diplomatic sources, the meeting between the Greek Foreign Minister and his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Soukri, took place in an exceptional atmosphere.
Both bilateral relations and regional developments were discussed. “In this context, it was unequivocally stressed that there is no discussion or prospect of delimiting the EEZ between Egypt and Turkey. “Relevant publications that spoke of an Egypt-Turkey rapprochement were even characterized as misinformation”, the same sources state.
At the same time, they point out that the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum has issued a new announcement for plots, in which the announcement for a plot of land east of the 28th meridian has been removed. As the Greek Foreign Minister pointed out in his statement from Larnaca yesterday, this amendment is a technical issue concerning the Egyptian side.
It is noted that regarding the Greek side, the issue that had arisen in the previous days is considered over.
Finally, in Athens, they emphasize the meeting that Nikos Dendias had with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gate. “During this meeting, the Arab official spoke extensively and strongly criticized Turkey's continued interference in the internal affairs of Arab states, such as Libya, Syria, but also Iraq. It was also agreed to start the consultations immediately between Greece and the Arab League in order to sign a relevant Memorandum of Understanding (Memorandum of Understanding) “, note diplomatic sources in Athens.
EastMed is important
The EastMed pipeline could be ready in five years, Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz told KYPE, describing the project as extremely important.
In an interview with KYPE, Mr. Steinitz said that Israel has a huge surplus of gas. “We have enough to justify not only one EastMed pipeline but I believe that together with Cyprus we can justify even two or three such pipelines”, he pointed out. Referring to the regional intergovernmental organization “Forum on Natural Gas in the Eastern Mediterranean” (EMGF), he noted that it is very important and that for the first time Arab, European countries and Israel are sitting at the same table on economic and strategic issues.
Asked about Turkey's occasional illegal actions in the Cypriot EEZ, he said “we would rather see Turkey as part of regional co-operation rather than as a source of conflict”.
Asked about the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that Cyprus, Greece and Israel signed on March 8, in Nicosia, for their electrical connection through the EuroAsia Interconnector pipeline, Mr. Steinitz said that “this is extremely important for us because from an energy point of view we are an island like Cyprus. “So the fact that now Greece, Cyprus and Israel have agreed to establish an electricity interconnection pipeline that will connect Greece with Cyprus and Israel is extremely important to us.”
East Med Gas Forum: Cyprus takes over the presidency
Cyprus will be the first country after Egypt to take over the chairmanship of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum on January 1, 2022. Egypt will continue to chair the Forum until the end of the year, when Cyprus, in January 2022, will assume its first official presidency. This was decided during yesterday's fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum, held in Cairo, with the participation of the Minister of Energy, Natasa Peleidou, and the Ministers of Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Italy. The Forum officially became a regional intergovernmental organization after the entry into force of its Statute on March 1, 2021.
