Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday slammed what he called Greek Cypriots' "false hopes" of arresting the crew of the Turkish-flagged drillship Fatih in the East Mediterranean in response to reported warrants sought by Southern Cyprus.
Turkey’s first seismic vessel, the Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa, bought from Norway in 2013, has been conducting exploration in the Mediterranean since April 2017.
Turkey wants to see energy as an incentive for a political resolution on the island and peace in the wider Mediterranean basin rather than a catalyst for further tensions.
In 1974, following a coup aimed at Cyprus’ annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded.The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one -- held with the participation of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the U.K. -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland.
