(Huffington Post) Selcan Hacaoglu - Turkey warned Cyprus Thursday against proceeding with offshore oil and gas drilling activities after Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias announced that U.S. firm Noble Energy will soon begin exploratory drilling to confirm deposits beneath the sea bed off Cyprus' southern coast. Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a sovereign country and strongly objects to the Greek Cypriot search for mineral deposits inside the island's exclusive economic zone. Cyprus was split into a Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north in 1974 when Turkey invaded the island. The island's northern part declared its independence in 1983 but it is recognized only by Turkey, which maintains 35,000 troops there.
2011-09-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive