The U.S. government is deeply concerned by Turkey’s “provocative step” to conduct drilling operations in the waters off Cyprus causing tension in the region according to a State Department announcement.
Turkey recently sent its drilling ship Yavuz to conduct operations in Cypriot claimed waters.
Read the full announcement by Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:
The United States remains deeply concerned by Turkey’s repeated attempts to conduct drilling operations in the waters off Cyprus and its most recent dispatch of the drillship Yavuz off the Karpas Peninsula.
This provocative step raises tensions in the region. We urge Turkish authorities to halt these operations and encourage all parties to act with restraint and refrain from actions that increase tensions in the region.
Energy resource development in the Eastern Mediterranean should foster cooperation, increase dialogue between the two communities and among regional neighbors, and provide a foundation for durable energy security and economic prosperity. We continue to believe the island’s oil and gas resources, like all of its resources, should be equitably shared between both communities in the context of an overall settlement.
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