Hydrocarbons in Eastern Mediterranean Waters and the Decades-Old Cyprus Conflict

The discovery of hydrocarbons in Eastern Mediterranean waters was quickly followed by a resurgence in territorial disputes which have further complicated efforts to resolve the decades-old Cyprus conflict. The tensions between Turkey and Greece over maritime rights in the eastern Mediterranean, partly stemming from the unresolved conflict over the divided island of Cyprus, increased last summer. Ankara, excluded from plans by the Republic of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and Greece to run a pipeline to Europe, sent its own drill ships into contested waters surrounding Cyprus, as well as south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo.