Ankara only seeking to protect Turkish-Cypriot rights, says FM

The “only thing” that Ankara wants with its recent activities in the Eastern Mediterranean is to “guarantee that the rights of Turkish-Cypriots are accepted by the Greek-Cypriot administration, Greece, the EU and everyone else,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted by the state-run Anadolou Agency as saying on Wednesday.

Speaking to a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) in Ankara, Cavusoglu said that a political solution can only be reached when “people learn to share in compliance with the law.”

“We won’t have any trouble sharing the wealth [in the region],” Cavusoglu said in an apparent reference to the possible discovery of significant gas reserves off Cyprus' coast.

According to AA, Turkey's Fatih ship is currently carrying out research and drilling activities off the divided island's coast and Ankara is planning to send a second vessel, the Yavuz, which is expected to start drilling in July.

Turkey's actions have spurred calls by Athens and Nicosia for “specific measures” from the European Union.