Turkey and Northern Cyprus Sign Agreement for Underwater Gas Pipeline

Sharp Criticism from Nicosia

The internationally recognized government of Cyprus, based in Nicosia, sharply condemned the agreement. The Cypriot Foreign Ministry stated that Ankara was attempting to cement the faits accomplis created by the occupation and to advance the further integration of the occupied territories into Turkey. The memorandum "fits into their ongoing efforts to cement the faits accomplis created by the occupation and to promote the further integration of the occupied territories into Turkey."

The background to the agreement is the Cyprus question, which has been smoldering for decades: since a Greek coup and a Turkish military intervention in 1974, the Mediterranean island has been de facto divided. Turkey continues to maintain troops in the northern part of the island. Only the government in Ankara recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus internationally.

Divided Island Since 1974

The Republic of Cyprus as a whole has been a member of the European Union since 2004. EU law and EU regulations, however, apply exclusively in the south of the island — that is, in the area controlled by the government in Nicosia. The north eludes the EU legal order.

The Turkish government hopes the pipeline project will strengthen regional energy supply security. Turkey already supplies Northern Cyprus with drinking water via an existing underwater line. With the new gas pipeline, a further step is now to be taken toward the infrastructural connection of the northern part of the island to the Turkish mainland.

Possible Dual Use of the Line

The TRT reporting also points to a possible future dual use: should gas deposits be developed in the eastern Mediterranean, the line could, according to TRT, prospectively also be used to transport gas in the direction of Turkey, provided extraction is economically viable.

High Political Explosiveness

Internationally, however, the undertaking meets with opposition. The government in Nicosia accuses Turkey of further consolidating the division of the island that has existed since 1974 and of creating facts unilaterally through the pipeline agreement. As a result, the gas pipeline remains not only an energy-policy project, but also a highly political one in the already tense relationship between Ankara and the EU.

With the signed memorandum, the formal framework for the construction of the pipeline has been set. According to Turkish government representatives, further negotiations on the actual costs, financing, and the specific route are to follow in the coming months.