Turkey is no longer a dependable strategic ally of Israel

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...123679,00.html


Turkey to freeze EU ties if Cyprus gets EU presidency
Comments strongest yet by Ankara over its opposition to Cyprus presidency and could mark start of a new low point in ties between European Union and Turkey
Reuters
Published: 09.18.11, 12:46 / Israel News

EU-candidate Turkey will freeze relations with the European Union if Cyprus is given the EU presidency in 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Anatolian late on Saturday.

The comments were the strongest yet by Ankara over its opposition to the Cyprus presidency and could mark the start of a new low point in ties between the European Union and Turkey which began accession talks to the bloc in 2005.

Turkish PM Erdogan during Cairo address (Photo: EPA)

The comments also come at a time of heightened tension in the eastern Mediterranean where Turkey is locked in a row with Cyprus over potential offshore gas deposits. Turkey's relations with one-time ally Israel are also at a low.

"If the peace negotiations there (Cyprus) are not conclusive, and the EU gives its rotating presidency to southern Cyprus, the real crisis will be between Turkey and the EU," Anatolian quoted Atalay as telling Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio and TV at the end of a trip to northern Cyprus.

"Because we will then freeze our relations with the EU. We have made this announcement, as a government we have made this decision. Our relations with the EU will come to a sudden halt."

The internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government is due to take on the six-month rotating EU presidency in July 2012.

Cyprus has been divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. UN-sponsored peace talks between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots have stumbled since they were relaunched in 2008.

In July, Turkey's European Union minister said freezing ties with the Greek Cypriot EU presidency was "an option" but Atalay's comments were the first time Ankara has said it would definitely halt relations.

Greek Cypriots represent the island internationally and in the European Union, while Turkey is the only country to recognise the Turkish Cypriot state. Greek Cypriots say Turkey cannot join the bloc until the Cyprus conflict is resolved.

The rotating presidency has lost some importance since the EU's Lisbon treaty, which established a permanent head of the European Council that groups national governments, and a new foreign and security policy chief. But a determined country can still shape the agenda.

Of the 35 "chapters" -- policy areas of EU law -- Turkey has completed one, and 18 have been frozen because of opposition by EU member states including Cyprus and France.

[BRVoice]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...ked-2011-09-18


Cyprus drilling rig to be blocked
Sunday, September 18, 2011
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey is ready to send an exploration rig, accompanied by a warship, to claim its rights off Cyprus, a Turkish official says.

The Greek Cypriot initiative for gas drilling off Cyprus pushes Turkey and Turkish Cyprus to announce their own action plan in retaliation.

Tension between Turkey and Greek Cyprus is moving toward crisis in the eastern Mediterranean Sea with Ankara’s announcement of plans to send an oil and gas exploration rig to the already unstable area, accompanied by a warship. “We have accomplished all preparatory work. We are ready to finalize the agreement [with Turkish Cyprus] to begin the process and send our platform off the Cyprus coast,” a Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News on Sunday.

The statement followed news that Texas-based Noble Energy, operating under license from the Greek Cypriot government, had moved its drilling rig into position over the weekend. It is expected to start work soon on a block southeast of the island.


The Greek Cypriot initiative pushed Turkey and Turkish Cyprus to announce their own action plan in retaliation.

Under the plan, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, or TPAO, will be licensed by Turkish Cyprus to launch exploration and drilling activities in the disputed area. A senior Energy Ministry official was in Nicosia on Sunday to review the current state of agreement, which will likely be signed within days if the Greek Cypriot administration does not retreat from its position.

“We will be very cautious in this process; all our steps will be taken as retaliation and [in response] to Greek Cypriot moves,” the Foreign Ministry official said. Noting that Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York this week, the diplomat said Turkey will try all diplomatic channels to avert this crisis. “If we cannot succeed, there will be no room left for us other than to retaliate,” the official said. The Greek Cypriot drilling plan will also kill off the U.N.’s plan to reunify the divided island, Davutoğlu said Sunday. “The Greek Cypriots are intending to sabotage the talks, to change the nature of existing ties by the way of provocation,” he said, warning that such unilateral actions would doom the island to permanent division. “If they claim they have their own area where they can do whatever they want, then, by implication, they accept that the [Northern Cyprus] has its own area as well. This is a shift to a two-state mentality.”

If the Greek Cypriots begin drilling, Davutoğlu added, Turkey and northern Cyprus will respond by signing a continental shelf delimitation accord to pave the way for their own exploration and “the two-state prospect will further deepen.”

Davutoğlu said he discussed the latest tensions with the U.N. envoy in Cyprus, Alexander Downer, and was planning to hold further talks with Ban in New York this week. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay meanwhile said late Saturday that Turkey will freeze its relations with the European Union if Cyprus takes over the union’s rotating presidency next year before a solution is reached on the divided island. “If the negotiations [on Cyprus] do not end positively and the EU hands over the presidency to southern Cyprus, the main crisis will be between the EU and Turkey. Because then we will freeze our relations with the EU,” the Anatolia news agency quoted him as saying.

[BRVoice]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/19/wo..._r=2&ref=world


September 18, 2011
Turkey Predicts Alliance With Egypt as Regional Anchors
By ANTHONY SHADID

ANKARA, Turkey — A newly assertive Turkey offered on Sunday a vision of a starkly realigned Middle East, where the country’s former allies in Syria and Israel fall into deeper isolation, and a burgeoning alliance with Egypt underpins a new order in a region roiled by revolt and revolution.

The portrait was described by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey in an hourlong interview before he was to leave for the United Nations, where a contentious debate was expected this week over a Palestinian bid for recognition as a state. Viewed by many as the architect of a foreign policy that has made Turkey one of the most relevant players in the Muslim world, Mr. Davutoglu pointed to that issue and others to describe a region in the midst of a transformation. Turkey, he said, was “right at the center of everything.”

He declared that Israel was solely responsible for the near collapse in relations with Turkey, once an ally, and he accused Syria’s president of lying to him after Turkish officials offered the government there a “last chance” to salvage power by halting its brutal crackdown on dissent.

Strikingly, he predicted a partnership between Turkey and Egypt, two of the region’s militarily strongest and most populous and influential countries, which he said could create a new axis of power at a time when American influence in the Middle East seems to be diminishing.

“This is what we want,” Mr. Davutoglu said.

“This will not be an axis against any other country — not Israel, not Iran, not any other country, but this will be an axis of democracy, real democracy,” he added. “That will be an axis of democracy of the two biggest nations in our region, from the north to the south, from the Black Sea down to the Nile Valley in Sudan.”

His comments came after a tour last week by Turkish leaders — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mr. Davutoglu among them — of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, the three Arab countries that have undergone revolutions this year. His criticism of old allies and embrace of new ones underscored the confidence of Turkey these days, as it tries to position itself on the winning side in a region unrecognizable from a year ago.

Unlike an anxious Israel, a skeptical Iran and a United States whose regional policy has been criticized as seeming muddled and even contradictory at times, Turkey has recovered from early missteps to offer itself as a model for democratic transition and economic growth at a time when the Middle East and northern Africa have been seized by radical change. The remarkably warm reception of Turkey in the Arab world — a region Turks once viewed with disdain — is a development almost as seismic as the Arab revolts and revolutions themselves.

Mr. Davutoglu credited a “psychological affinity” between Turkey and much of the Arab world, which was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for four centuries from Istanbul.

The foreign minister, 52, remains more scholar than politician, though he has a diplomat’s knack for bridging divides. Cerebral and soft-spoken, he offered a speech this summer to Libyan rebels in Benghazi — in Arabic. Soon after the revolution in Tunisia, he hailed the people there as the “sons of Ibn Khaldoun,” one of the Arab world’s greatest philosophers, born in Tunis in the 14th century. “We’re not here to teach you,” he said. “You know what to do. Ibn Khaldoun’s grandsons deserve the best political system.”

That sense of cultural affinity has facilitated Turkey’s entry into the region, as has the successful model of Mr. Davutoglu’s Justice and Development Party, whose deeply pious leaders have won three consecutive elections, presided over a booming economy and inaugurated reform that has made Turkey a more liberal, modern and confident place. Mr. Erdogan’s defense of Palestinian rights and criticism of Israel — relations between Turkey and Israel collapsed after Israeli troops killed nine people on board a Turkish flotilla trying to break the blockade of Gaza in 2010 — has bolstered his popularity.

Last week, Mr. Erdogan was afforded a rapturous welcome in Egypt, where thoroughfares were adorned with his billboard-size portraits. (“Lend us Erdogan for a month!” wrote a columnist in Al Wafd, an Egyptian newspaper.)

Mr. Davutolglu, who accompanied him there, said Egypt would become the focus of Turkish efforts, as an older American-backed order, buttressed by Israel, Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, prerevolutionary Egypt, begins to crumble. On the vote over a Palestinian state, the United States, in particular, finds itself almost completely isolated.

He also predicted that Turkey’s $1.5 billion investment in Egypt would grow to $5 billion within two years and that total trade would increase to $5 billion, from $3.5 billion now, by the end of 2012, then $10 billion by 2015. As if to underscore the importance Turkey saw in economic cooperation, 280 businessmen accompanied the Turkish delegation, and Mr. Davutoglu said they signed about $1 billion in contracts in a single day.

“For democracy, we need a strong economy,” he said.

Other countries — Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel — would undoubtedly look upon an Egyptian-Turkish axis with alarm. Just a year ago, Egypt’s own president, Hosni Mubarak, viewed Turkey, and Mr. Erdogan in particular, with skepticism and suspicion. But in the view of Mr. Davutoglu, such an alliance was a force for stability.

“For the regional balance of power, we want to have a strong, very strong Egypt,” said Mr. Davutoglu, who has visited the Egyptian capital five times since Mr. Mubarak was overthrown in February. “Some people may think Egypt and Turkey are competing. No. This is our strategic decision. We want a strong Egypt now.”

The phrase “zero problems” is a famous dictum written by Mr. Davutoglu, who served as Mr. Erdogan’s chief foreign policy adviser before becoming foreign minister. By it, he meant that Turkey would strive to end conflicts with its neighbors. Successes have been few. Problems remain with Armenia, and Turkey was unable to resolve the conflict in Cyprus, still divided into Greek and Turkish zones. Turkey’s agreement to host a radar installation as part of a NATO missile defense system has rankled neighboring Iran.

Most spectacularly, its relations with Israel collapsed after the Israeli government refused a series of Turkish demands that followed the attack on the boat: an apology, compensation for the victims and a lifting of Israel’s blockade on the Gaza Strip.

“Nobody can blame Turkey or any other country in the region for its isolation,” he said of Israel. “It was Israel and the government’s decision to isolate themselves. And they will be isolated even more if they continue this policy of rejecting any proposal.”

Caught by surprise by the Arab revolts — as pretty much everyone was — Turkey staggered. At least $15 billion in investments were lost in the civil war in Libya, and Turkish diplomats initially opposed NATO’s intervention. For years, Turkey cultivated ties with Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, seeing Syria as its fulcrum for integrating the region’s economies. Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Assad counted themselves as friends.

Syria’s failure to — as Mr. Davutoglu put it — heed Turkey’s advice has wrecked relations, and Turkey is now hosting Syrian opposition conferences and groups.

Last month, in meetings that lasted more than six hours, Mr. Davutoglu said Mr. Assad agreed on a Turkish road map — announcing a specific date for parliamentary elections by year’s end, repealing a constitutional provision that enshrined power in the ruling Baath Party, drafting a constitution by the newly elected Parliament and then holding another election once the constitution decided between a presidential or a parliamentary system. Despite face-to-face assurances, Mr. Assad did not follow through.

“For us, that was the last chance,” Mr. Davutoglu said.

Asked if he felt betrayed, he replied, “Yes, of course.”

Mr. Davutoglu accused Mr. Assad of “not fulfilling promises and not telling the truth.”

“This is the illusion of autocratic regimes,” he said. “They think that in a few days they will control the situation. Not today, but tomorrow, next week, next month. They don’t see. And this is a vicious circle.”

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124192,00.html


Turkey: Navy could escort exploration ships off Cyprus
Published: 09.19.11, 11:33 / Israel

Turkey called on Monday for the Greek Cypriot government to halt immediately gas exploration work off Cyprus with Texas-based Noble Energy and said Turkish naval ships could escort Turkish energy exploration ships in the Mediterranean.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters that a planned agreement between Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state setting out maritime boundaries would result in the Turkish oil company TPAO effectively having a presence in the waters off northern Cyprus. (Reuters)

[BRVoice]

Diplomatic and security relations between Israel-Turkey continue to deteriorate.


http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomac...urkey-1.385341

• Published 11:53 19.09.11
• Latest update 11:53 19.09.11

Israel to withdraw police representative in Turkey

Public Security Minister's decision motivated by lack of working relationships and concerns for the police representative's safety.

By Yaniv Kubovich Tags: Israel Turkey Israel police

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch announced Monday that Israel will withdraw its police representative in Turkey following the deepening crisis between Jerusalem and Ankara.
"Lately, there have not been working relations between the police representative and the Turks. In addition, we are concerned for the safety of the representative and as such he will be transferred in the coming days," said Aharonovitch.

	Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	Photo by: Archive

The representatives in Turkey also provide services to other Eastern European countries and as such the intention is to transfer these representatives to Romania.
The recent crisis in Israel-Turkey relations deepened after the UN-commissioned report on the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid was leaked to the New York Times, foiling a last-ditch effort to patch up relations between the two countries.
Turkey then announced a series of measures against Israel, beginning with the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador along with other senior diplomats and the downgrading of bilateral relations to the level of second secretary.
Reports on Friday alleged that U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoganat the UN General Assembly in New York this week to urge the Turkism PM to repair relations with Israel.
Speaking to AFP on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu rejected the notion that the United States would be able to sway Turkey to back down on its hostilities toward Israel, saying: "We do not need mediation ... for Israel in any way."
"The demands of Turkey are clear," Davutoglu added, insisting that "no one should test our resolve on this matter," adding that the Americans "are probably the people who best understand Turkey's position on this issue."
The deterioration in diplomatic ties began when the Israel Defense Forces raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010 left nine Turkish citizens dead. Following the incident, Israel refused the Turkish request to apologize for the deaths as well as pay compensation to the families of the Turks killed.

[BRVoice]

The turks will close the Bosphorus strait for naval exercises

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...ses-2011-09-19


Bosphorus Strait to be closed to sea traffic for naval exercises


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Monday, September 19, 2011
Erdinç Çelikkan
ANKARA - Hürriyet

The high number of ships passing through the Bosphorus Strait and the Dardanelles has alerted the Environment and Urbanization Ministry to the risk created by potential sea accidents

An aerial view shows the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait from the Marmara Sea. The Golden Horn can be seen on the right and the Prince's Islands in the distance in top left. AA photo, Kayhan ÖZER

The Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul will be closed to transit passages on Sept. 28-29 in order to carry out emergency exercises, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization announced Monday.
Roughly 55,000 sea vessels pass through theBosphorus Strait and 60,000 vessels pass through the Dardanelles each year, the ministry said.
The naval exercises will include measures that would be taken in the face of a possible accident on the Bosphorus. The execrises will be carried out Sept. 28-29, during which the waterway will be closed to all transit passages.
According to the exercise scenario, a 250-meter, 95,000-deadweight crude oil tanker will collide with a passenger ship near the Kabataş port and cause an oil spill.
The exercise will be the most comprehensive ever conducted on the Bosphorus, the ministry said.

[BRVoice]

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/...g_8687217.html


Cyprus says offshore drilling for gas has begun

Associated Press, 09.19.11, 09:02 AM EDT
NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Cyprus' energy chief says US firm Noble Energy has begun offshore exploratory drilling for oil and gas.
Solon Kassinis told the AP on Monday that rig workers have already drilled about 80 meters (260 feet) beneath the seabed inside the island's exclusive economic zone, which is close to sizable gas finds within Israeli waters.

Turkey escalated a dispute with Cyprus over oil and gas drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, saying Monday that it would send warships to protect its claims to resources off the coast of the divided island.
Cyprus has said that it has political backing from the international community to drill for oil and gas off its shores.


THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.




ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey escalated a dispute with Cyprus over oil and gas drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, saying Monday that it would send warships to protect its claims to resources off the coast of the divided island.

Cyprus was divided into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north after a 1974 Turkish invasion. The southern government said in August that it would begin exploratory drilling for oil and gas, prompting strong protests from Turkey, which doesn't recognize the Greek Cypriot administration and says drilling can derail long-running talks to reunify the island.
Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said if Cyprus does not halt the planned drilling, his country would send out its own research ship within a week and the Turkish navy would "obviously" escort it.
"This work will be carried out together with the escort," Yildiz told a group of reporters. "There will be no turning back on this issue."
Turkey has been pursuing an increasingly muscular foreign policy since the reelection of its religiously rooted government, expelling the Israeli ambassador this month over a deadly raid on a Turkish aid convoy and pledging to send its navy to escort future convoys to the Gaza Strip.
Turkey has also renewed threats to freeze all ties with the EU if Cyprus is allowed to assume the presidency of the 27-nation group before a settlement that would allow the Turkish north to be a legitimate representative of the reunified state.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told Turkish Cypriot Bayrak television this week that "a real crisis will erupt between the EU and Turkey" if the Greek Cypriot government takes over the six month rotating presidency in July, 2012.
"We will at that point freeze our relations with the EU," Atalay said.
Cyprus last week said it had political backing of the international community for the search for mineral deposits inside its exclusive economic zone, which is close to sizable gas finds within Israeli waters. Houston-based firm Noble Energy Inc. has already sent a rig to the area.
"Our wish is that we do not reach such a point, and that the work they are undertaking with Noble comes to an end before it even begins," Yildiz told reporters.
Turkey had discussed the issue with U.S. officials, but not with the company itself, Yildiz said, adding the risks for the company are considerable.
"I do not think they will undertake such a work in such a risky area, from a technical and a feasibility point of view," said Yildiz.




Associated Press Writer Selcan Hacaoglu contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[BRVoice]

http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticl...#ixzz1YPAMy3l0


EU urges Turkey to avoid threats in Cyprus gas row

September 19, 2011

The European Union on Monday called on Turkey to refrain from making threats in a gas drilling dispute with Cyprus, an EU member whose government is not recognized by Ankara.
"We urge Turkey to refrain from any kind of threat or sources of friction or action which could negatively affect the good neighborly relations and the peaceful settlement of border disputes," said Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz warned earlier on Monday that his country would start oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean next week if the Greek Cypriots press ahead with their drilling plans.
His threat followed a warning from the Turkish deputy prime minister that Ankara would freeze its relations with the EU if Cyprus takes the bloc's rotating presidency next year before a solution is reached on the divided island.
Kocijancic repeated EU calls for a comprehensive settlement over Cyprus, divided for the past 37 years between Turkish North and Greek South.
"All parties should exercise restraint and do their utmost to facilitate success for completion of this process," she told a news briefing.
"We have also underlined the importance of progress in normalization of the relations between Turkey and all EU member states, including for example Cyprus," the spokesperson said.
Turkey has called on the internationally-recognized Republic of Cyprus to postpone its gas exploration, saying the Greek side has no right to do so while the island remains split, thus leaving the Turkish North out of the picture.
Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since Turkish troops invaded the island and occupied its northern third in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
The issue remains a major stumbling block to Turkey's struggling bid to join the EU.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124435,00.html


Erdogan threatens Cyprus over offshore drilling
Turkish PM Erdogan threatens military action against Nicosia after it goes ahead with maritime mineral exploration despite Ankara's objections
News agencies
Published: 09.19.11, 19:26 / Israel News

Turkey-Cyprus tensions nearing boiling point? Cyprus announced Monday that it has contracted US-based Noble Energy to do exploratory drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Cyprus despite the area being the center of a dispute it has with Turkey.

Turkey had warned Cyprus against any such move in the past and in a significant escalation of tensions, Ankara said that it would send warships to protect its claims to submarine resources in the area.

"Turkey's frigates, gunboats and its air force will constantly monitor developments in the area," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding that Turkey will begin its own oil and gas search as early as this week.

Noble Energy, based in Houston, is now smack in the middle of the escalating dispute over mineral deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, complicated by the status of Cyprus. The island has been divided since 1974 into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, which is recognized only by Turkey.


Turkish warship (Photo: AP)

The dispute is not only where any future energy revenues flow, but who has the right to what undersea riches when the status of the nearby land itself is unresolved.

Cypriot energy chief Solon Kassinis said Monday that workers on a Noble rig have already drilled 260 feet beneath the seabed about 115 miles off the island's southern coast.

The area in question is near sizable gas finds within Israeli waters, and within Cyprus' exclusive economic zone – an area marked out following agreements with Egypt, Israel and Lebanon delineating editerranean undersea borders to facilitate the search for mineral deposits.

The Turkish government does not recognize the Cypriot government in the south, and vigorously protested the August announcement of Noble's intentions.

Turkey says the Greek Cypriot drilling can derail long-running talks to reunify the island.

"This exclusive economic zone is disputed and we have told them that it is not right for them to take such a step in this area," Erdogan told reporters on Monday.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that unless Cyprus halted the drilling, his country would send its own energy research ship out escorted by the Turkish navy.

"This work will be carried out together with the escort," Yildiz told reporters. "There will be no turning back on this issue."

Turkey has been pursuing an increasingly muscular foreign policy since the reelection of its religiously rooted government in June. It expelled the Israeli ambassador this month in a dispute over a deadly Israeli raid last year on a Turkish aid convoy to the Gaza Strip and pledged to send its navy to escort future aid convoys.

Turkey has also renewed threats to freeze all ties with the European Union if Cyprus is allowed to assume the presidency of the 27-nation group next July before a settlement that would allow the Turkish north to be a legitimate representative of the reunified state.



AP contributed to this report

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124192,00.html


Turkey: Navy could escort exploration ships off Cyprus
Published: 09.19.11, 11:33 / Israel News

Turkey called on Monday for the Greek Cypriot government to halt immediately gas exploration work off Cyprus with Texas-based Noble Energy and said Turkish naval ships could escort Turkish energy exploration ships in the Mediterranean.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters that a planned agreement between Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state setting out maritime boundaries would result in the Turkish oil company TPAO effectively having a presence in the waters off northern Cyprus. (Reuters)

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124464,00.html


US supports Cyprus right to explore for energy
Published: 09.19.11, 20:45 / Israel News

The United States supports "the right" of Cyprus to explore for energy, a senior US official said Monday after US-Turkish talks.

The official also told reporters on condition of anonymity that the dispute between Turkey and Cyprus over exploration should "not interfere" with talks aimed at resolving the political issues over the divided island of Cyprus. (AFP)

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124467,00.html


US urges Turkey to keep door open with Israel
Published: 09.19.11, 20:46 / Israel News

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Turkey to "keep the door open" to better ties with Israel, a US official said on Monday, seeking to prevent relations between two US allies from deteriorating further.

"She encouraged Turkey to keep the door open," said a senior US official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. "We want to see them repair their relationship, so she encouraged them to avoid any steps that would close that door and on the contrary to actively seek ways that they can repair (their) important relationship with Israel." (Reuters)

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124481,00.html


Report: Bomb threat before Turkey leader's speech

Published: 09.19.11, 21:22 / Israel News

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Berlin police are clearing a university where Turkish President Abdullah Gul was due to speak after what a German news agency reported was a bomb threat.

Gul was to deliver a speech Tuesday on Turkish-German relations at Humboldt University. Police asked people to leave the venue but didn't immediately say why. (Reuters)

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124506,00.html


Turkish FM walks out on Ayalon speech in NYC

Ahmet Davutoğlu leaves international anti-terror conference as Israeli deputy FM gears to address participants
Yitzhak Benhorin

Published: 09.19.11, 22:56 / Israel News

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WASHINGTON – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu left an international conference on terror just moments before Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon was set to address its participants.

Other than Davutoğlu and Ayalon, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé and his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini also spoke an the conference.
Ayalon's personal history with Turkish official was muddied in 2010, when he summoned Turkish Ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to the Foreign Ministry to reprimand him over an anti-Israel Turkish TV show and made him sit on a chair lower than his own – an act perceived as a deliberate humiliation of Ankara's diplomat.


Davutoğlu's empty chair (Photo: Shahar Azran)

Nevertheless, it is possible that the Turkish FM would have left regardless of the Israeli speaker's identity, as it is common for Turkish diplomats to leave international venues as Israeli diplomats are about to speak.
Ayalon's address focused on the need for the international to act in unison against Iran's "terror policies." The deputy foreign minister called Iran an "international terror hub" and urged the international community to increase its enforcement of the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic, as well as on Hezbollah and Hamas.
Ayalon also mentioned Israel's contribution and assistance to the UN and various international bodies in the war on terror, noting Israel's anti-terror collaborations in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia and in Latin America.
Commenting on Davutoğlu's departure, ayalon said he was sorry that "not all NATO members see fit to cooperate with Israel (stance) in the session."

Earlier Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the Turkish FM and urged him to "leave the door ajar" for the normalization of Israel-Turkey relations, which are at an all time low.

A source privy to the two's meeting told Ynet that Clinton used the one-hour meeting to try and repair the rift between Jerusalem and Ankara. "Clinton wants to see Israel and Turkey find a way to mend their relationship, which is so important."
Another senior American source said that Clinton reminded Davutoğlu that the "Middle East is at a time when it does not need any more regional tensions."

Ronen Medzini contributed to this report

[BRVoice]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...124751,00.html


Ankara: Explosion rocks Turkish capital; injuries reported
Published: 09.20.11, 11:27 / Israel News

An explosion, apparently in a vehicle, rocked the center of the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday, causing some casualties and damaging surrounding vehicles, Turkish broadcasters reported.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. No further details were immediately available. Thick smoke rose from the area in central Ankara. (Reuters)

[BRVoice]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...sit-2011-09-19


Missile approval left till after key US visit


Font Size: Larger|Smaller
Monday, September 19, 2011
Serkan Demirtaş
ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey will wait to implement a deal to site a NATO radar system on its soil until after the prime minister’s return from UN General Assembly meetings this week

This file photo shows Turkish PM Erdoğan (L) and US President Obama. AA photo

Rebuffing Washington’s demands for speedy approval, the Turkish government has decided to wait until after this week’s U.N. General Assembly meetings to complete the procedures necessary to station a NATO radar system on Turkish soil.
The memorandum of understanding signed last week by Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu and U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Francis J. Ricciardone has not been brought to the agenda of the Cabinet to complete the official procedures needed for it to enter into force, the Hürriyet Daily News has learned.
Since the early warning radar system is part of a NATO agreement, Cabinet approval suffices for its implementation rather than a parliamentary vote. The process will thus have to wait until Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s return from the United States, where he will hold key talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.
During his visit to the United States, Erdoğan will be accompanied by the General Staff’s second in command, Hulusi Akar, as well as EU Minister Egemen Bağış, Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar and other deputies and officials, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Before his departure late Monday, Erdoğan addressed reports in the Turkish media that the NATO defense program would not protect all of Turkey. “These are disinformation,” he said, adding that such reports aim to create concerns among the citizenry.
“What will be deployed is a radar system and not missiles. If needed, we would consider the deployment of missiles as well. But this is not on our agenda for the moment,” Erdoğan said.
The agreement envisions the deployment of a U.S. AN/TPY-2 (X-band) early warning radar system at a military installation at Kürecik in the Central Anatolian province of Malatya as part of the NATO missile-defense project. Obama and Erdoğan will likely discuss the fate of the agreement, which has been described by anonymous U.S. officials as the most strategic deal between the two allies in the last 15 to 20 years.
A swift approval of the deal is needed to carry out the technical phases of the radar system’s deployment before the end of this year, as suggested by the U.S. Department of Defense. U.S. warships carrying anti-ballistic missiles are expected to take up position in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the upcoming months, U.S. media outlets have reported.
As part of the project, missile shield interceptors and their launching system will be deployed in Romanian and Polish territory, in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
Iran will be informed
Senior Turkish officials who are planning to visit Tehran in the coming weeks will seek to diffuse growing Iranian concerns about the deployment of the radar system on Turkish soil. Hakan Fidan, chief of the National Intelligence Organization, or MİT, is expected to be the first visitor, followed by Erdoğan.
Sources said the precise plan would be decided following Erdoğan’s meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad this week in New York. Concerned by NATO’s recent deployment of radar and interception systems, Iran has meanwhile increased its pressure on Russia for the sale of S-300 anti-ballistic missile systems. The two countries signed a deal on the sale but Moscow has not yet begun the process.

[BRVoice]

Cyprus govt says Noble has started drilling work

NICOSIA, Sept 20 | Tue Sep 20, 2011 2:30pm BST


(Reuters) - Cyprus has started drilling south of the island for natural gas, its government said on Tuesday, marking a turning point in an escalating row with Turkey over offshore gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean.

"The drilling process has been started by Noble Energy on the basis of the agreement with the Republic of Cyprus," said deputy government spokesman Christos Christofides.

Noble Energy started preparatory work for the drilling prospect on Sunday evening, officials said earlier.

Turkey had threatened to give naval escorts to Turkish exploration vessels off Cyprus unless the Greek Cypriot government halted its exploration plans.


(Reporting By Michele Kambas)

[BRVoice]

One cadet dead in attack on police academy in SE Turkey


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Wednesday, September 21, 2011
BİTLİS - Doğan News Agency (DHA)

Special forces officers swarm the police academy in Bitlis following the attack.

One police cadet was killed and four wounded when attackers opened fire on a police academy in the Bitlis province in southeastern Turkey.
The attack took place around 9 a.m. on Wednesday when a black vehicle opened fire on the academy with long-distance weapons. A police cadet who was in the school's front yard was killed. Four more students were wounded.
A high number of special forces police officers were sent to the site after the attack. A detailed investigation was launched to find the black vehicle and the people who fired the shots.
One of the students wounded was reported to be in critical condition.
A near by elementary school was evacuated immediately. The search for the people responsible was ongoing.
Another attack was launched on a police van on Tuesday evening with noise bombs in the Cizre district in the southeastern Şırnak province. There were no casualties.
The police pursued the attackers and a clash between police forces and the attackers continued until the late hours.

[BRVoice]

No Cyprus bluff: Drilling ship on its way to Turkey


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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sibel Utku Bila
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey is not bluffing on its retaliation move to drill gas and oil off Cyprus, says the Deputy Prime Minister Arınç, adding that warships escort exploration vessels.

A Norwegian ship slated to conduct seismic surveys in Mediterranean waters made its way to Turkey on Tuesday as Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said Turkey’s plans to counter a Greek Cypriot offshore-drilling drive were “no bluff.”
“The ship is on its way. It has set sail from Norway,” an Energy Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News on Tuesday, a day after Greek Cyprus said it had begun drilling despite Turkish warnings in an escalating row over ownership of natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey’s warnings that its warships and air force would escort the exploration vessels “are no bluff,” Arınç said. “Turkey has rights and capabilities under international law. The whole world should know that we will in no way hesitate to use them.”
Energy Minister Taner Yıldız meanwhile said Tuesday that, “Turkey has now moved into action.” He added that a continental shelf delimitation accord, to be signed soon with northern Cyprus, would determine the maritime boundaries in which the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, or TPAO, would conduct its own research, in cooperation with a Norwegian company. In a show of force, Turkish navy and air forces would also escort TPAO’s exploration vessels.
The drilling row has become heightened amid Turkey’s already simmering crisis with Israel, which, according to Greek Cypriot media reports, sent unmanned surveillance aircraft to fly over the drilling operation in a gesture of solidarity with Greek Cyprus.
The continental shelf accord, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said might be signed this week, will determine the areas in which TPAO can carry out oil and gas exploration activities. The Energy Ministry official said the accord would provide the legal basis for drilling, but seismic studies could go ahead without it.
In Nicosia, Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister İrsen Küçük vowed “to make every effort and show every kind of resistance to protect our rights and interests” and announced the formation of a special commission to monitor developments.
The Greek Cypriot drilling plan flouts principles set by the United Nations in the peace negotiations for the divided island and is threatening to torpedo the prospect of a settlement, Küçük said in a written statement.
EU, US work to defuse tensions
Eager to defuse the row, the European Union and the United States have launched diplomatic efforts urging the parties to show restraint. Richard Morningstar, the special envoy of the U.S. Secretary of State for Eurasian Energy, discussed the issue with EU officials last week, an EU source said in Brussels.
The drilling issue also will dominate talks between EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu when the two meet late Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York. The EU source said Ashton would stress that Turkey’s high-key rhetoric and threats of military response are only making the situation worse, and will urge both sides to get the focus back on the reunification talks.
Greek Cyprus complains to UN chief
In New York for the U.N. General Assembly, Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias protested Turkey’s attitude when he met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday evening, according to Greek Cypriot media.
“The secretary-general said nothing about suspending or postponing the exploration work and I don’t think he will do so afterward,” Christofias said after the meeting, vowing that drilling would continue.
The exploratory drilling work is likely to last about two and a half months, Greek Cypriot deputy government spokesman Christos Christofides said Tuesday, adding that a second round of exploration would follow, lasting several months, so as to “give a clear picture on the size and the quality of the deposit.” k HDN
Sevil Küçükkoşum from Ankara Bureau contributed to this report.

[BRVoice]

Turkish-Turkish Cyprus deal on undersea borders imminent 21 September 2011, Wednesday / TODAYSZAMAN.COM, 0 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu are to sign an agreement marking out undersea boundaries in New York at 6 p.m. (3 a.m. GMT), private broadcaster NTV reported. The agreement is the first step for Turkish gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, which comes after Greek Cypriot authorities vowed to go ahead with planned exploration in the south of Cyprus despite protests from Turkey, which says it and the Turkish Cypriots also have rights in the region. Prime Minister Erdoğan, speaking on Tuesday after talks with US President Barack Obama, had said the agreement was to be signed very soon. He said Turkish warships were also in the region. Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said on Monday that Turkish navy ships might escort Turkish exploration ships if necessary, raising the possibility of a naval confrontation in the Eastern Mediterranean.