Tension between Turkey and Qatar before Erdogan’s visit to Doha
“It seems that the Turkish-Qatari strategic alliance formed in past years may face threats or divergence as regional changes accelerate”.
Finally, Turkey and northern Cyprus expressed anger at Qatar for cooperating with South Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish newspaper Zaman reported.
This came after pro-Greece South Cyprus granted gas exploration licenses to a Qatari company.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Northern Cyprus responded in a statement: “In addition to the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, the necessary measures will be taken against this attempt, which also violates the neritic zone of Turkey”.
In the written statement issued by the Ministry, it is understood that the Greek Cypriot administration gave permission for the exploration of natural gas to ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum in respect of the so-called license field N°5, which was unilaterally declared.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Beljic said: “The Greek Cypriot administration has given the natural gas exploration authorization to ExxonMobil and the Qatar Petroleum Company for the so-called licensing area (5), which it has unilaterally declared, ignoring the rights of our country and the Turkish Cypriots, and once again it is clear who really stands by the tension in the eastern Mediterranean”.
Biljic added: “Turkey will never allow any foreign State, company or vessel to conduct hydrocarbon exploration activities in our maritime jurisdiction without permission, as before, and will continue to firmly defend the rights of our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.
“Erdogan is due to visit Qatar on Monday, with which he has forged an alliance that has only grown stronger after 2017 when Egypt was a Gulf Arab province of Doha”.
“Turkey and Greece have a dispute over the Turkish neritic zone in the eastern Mediterranean, which Turkey says protects the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the north of the divided Cyprus peninsula”.
