TRNC Foreign Minister, Ozdil Nami is currently in Washington DC to promote the reunification of Cyprus.
Nami is meeting with top US administration officials and lawmakers as well as with officials from pro-Israel groups this week.
The central topic he has presented has been how reunification would foster cooperation between Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, by extracting and transporting natural gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean.
“There is a scenario whereby the Cyprus issue is resolved and the projects involving exploration of hydrocarbons and using that element as a factor that creates interdependence between Israel, Cyprus, Turkey and the European Union,” he told a group of reporters who met with him on Tuesday at an office representing Turkish Cyprus’ interests in Washington.
Such an eventuality would foster reconciliation between Turkey and Israel, a key U.S. strategic goal, he said. Relations have been strained between Turkey and Israel following an Israeli commando raid in 2010 on a Turkish-flagged ship headed to the Gaza Strip on a humanitarian mission, resulting in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals.
“Creating interdependence is the best way to create cooperation in the region,” Nami said.
The Obama administration has been highly supportive of the negotiations for the reunification of North and South Cyprus under a federal state which began last month.
