Dönmez: “The Greek Cypriot side’s attempts to acquire all of the island’s natural resources for its own economy are wrong”

Stating that the Greek Cypriot side and neighbouring countries are executing hydrocarbon exploration activities, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Dönmez reiterated that explorations were carried out in Israel and Egypt and that Exxon Mobil has also made an exploration in the region.

Dönmez made a statement to the Editor’s Desk of the Anadolu Agency (AA) about the agenda.

Mentioning that there is a potential in the region and Turkey has an aim to capture this potential at the first attempt, Dönmez said: “Turkey always argues that the Greek Cypriot side’s attempts to acquire all of the island’s natural resources for its own economy are wrong. There is the Turkish Cypriot people living in Cyprus. The Turkish Cypriots have their own rights and interests which must be protected. We would be very pleased if the leaders of the two sides sat down and reached an agreement. The TRNC has issued its own exploration licenses and hopefully we shall be making our own discoveries. I hope the Greek Cypriot side sees this and focuses on a model that will benefit everyone. “