The global energy agenda is reset each day based on different incidents, new moves and new actors. A new process gathered speed and a new dimension was added when Vladimir Putin, during his visit to Turkey, said the South Stream would be rerouted through Turkey, and given that the Trans Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is one of the primary supply lines for the Southern Gas Corridor.
It seems like we will be witness to measures and countermeasures in regard to new natural gas pipelines and partnerships by the actors involved, in an attempt to strengthen their positions at the energy table. It also looks like the topic of energy will become a zone immune to the effects of global disagreements between various countries.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s visit to Greece to attend the Turkey-Greece High Level Cooperation Meeting, the discussions held over the energy potential in the eastern Mediterranean, and the approach adopted by the parties of being open to cooperation signifies that a new energy pipeline will be added to the existing energy picture. Countries adopt a peaceful and rational stance on the topic of energy regardless of the political and economic disagreements between them, and this situation is not solely limited to Turkey and Greece.
Prime Minister Davutoğlu’s visit to Greece is important in the context of Turkey not being left out of the energy equation in this region, given that the negotiations toward a solution in Cyprus were disrupted, and immediately following that the southern Greek Cypriot administration began a period of energy-related talks with Israel and Egypt.
The 15 trillion cubic meters of energy reserves, mostly natural gas, in the eastern Mediterranean is why the region is being considered as a new Caspian Basin for global energy needs. Interest in the eastern Mediterranean is growing following the hydrocarbon discoveries and potential. This is because we are going through a period where every alternative energy source is politically and economically significant.
In this sense, the reserves in the eastern Mediterranean matter not only for Israel, the southern Greek Cypriot Administration and Greece, but for all actors involved in the energy game including Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). It is not possible for just the aforementioned countries to be involved in activating and managing the use of the energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
The obligation for the KKTC and the southern Greek Cypriot Administration to operate jointly on energy issues, Turkey’s role as a transit country due to the advantage of its geographical location, and the aim of European countries to reduce their dependence on Russian natural gas, means that many countries are included in the energy equation in the eastern Mediterranean. The extraction of the energy reserves present in the eastern Mediterranean also means that it will match half the reserves of Russia, the biggest producer of natural gas in the world, and become a serious rival to it.
Turkey, just like it is in the energy policies of Iraq and Russia, is the unvarying player in the eastern Mediterranean energy equation. The easiest way for natural gas extracted from the eastern Mediterranean to reach international markets is via Turkey.
Energy will play an active role in a solution being reached between the KKTC and the southern Greek Cypriot Administration, who are dependent on each other on many issues but have failed to find a solution to political issues for years. Given that countries are in a situation where they can’t forego the issue of energy in regard to their economic and political might; the idea of energy forming a bridge of peace between them comes to the fore.
This is because we are talking of a resource that cannot be ignored. It is an undeniable truth that no country, primarily Turkey and Greece, will benefit in the long term if the Cyprus issue remains unresolved.
Turkey has clearly stated that if the southern Greek Cypriot Administration opts to ignore this truth and tries to offer the region’s resources to global markets as if it only belongs to it, then Ankara will employ the same method and act in accord with the KKTC.
Every energy equation can be solved with the inclusion of Turkey, as new ways and strategies are sought in the field of energy. This window that has been opened with the Southern Gas Corridor shows how indispensible Turkey is as a “center,” with the gas for the corridor first being obtained from Azerbaijan, and then from Turkmenistan, Iran, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Administration, and perhaps the eastern Mediterranean.
Russia, with the largest energy reserves in the world, also sees its path passing through Turkey following plans to reroute the South Stream to Turkey as witnessed by Putin’s statement.
Turkey should continue to pursue its rational and reconciliatory energy policies and make use of the advantages that come from being considered a safe bet.
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