Turkey’s drill ship ‘Yavuz’ accompanied by a naval frigate, has reportedly headed towards Cyprus.
According to information obtained from the military sources by Greek Cypriot daily ‘Cyprus Mail’, the ‘Yavuz’, which departed from Taşucu yesterday at 11.30 pm yesterday, is expected to arrive off Cyprus this afternoon.
According to the news, Turkey issued a Navtex (notice to mariners) covering blocs 6 and 7 of South Cyprus’ self-proclaimed exclusive economic zone for April 20 – July 18.
It is also stated that it is expected to move personnel to the ship by helicopters in the coming weeks.
The government of South Cyprus will issued its own Navtex and is expected to announce it on its radio channel the minute the ‘Yavuz’ enters the south’s EEZ.
Part of bloc 7 lies in what Ankara says is its own EEZ.
Last week Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that Ankara would continue drilling and even deploy a third drillship.
He said Turkey had told the EU, the UN and even Greece that the Greek Cypriots should not have carried out any unilateral activities when it comes to drilling or exploitation in the Eastern Mediterranean before reaching an agreement on a fair distribution of revenue with the Turkish Cypriots. Ankara’s position was however ignored, he said.
“For reasonable stability, the main goal should be for the two sides to come together on the island for a fair distribution of revenue, and the proposal of the Turkish Cypriot authorities represents the only logical and realistic basis for a solution,” he said, referring to the Turkish Cypriot side’s proposal to jointly manage hydrocarbons planning simultaneously with negotiations on the Cyprus issue.
Yeniduzen, Cyprus Mail
