Turkey's Erdogan calls Israel's offshore gas drilling 'madness'

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Turkey reveals the real reason for their new found love for the Palestinians.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described offshore gas drilling by estranged ally Israel and Cyprus as "madness" on Wednesday, raising the stakes in a confrontation over potentially huge deposits in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The quarrel over gas has escalated in recent weeks, just as relations between Israel and Turkey abruptly broke down over Israel's refusal to apologize for its raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last year in which nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists died.

Israel and the Greek-speaking government of Cyprus are exploring for gas in the eastern Mediterranean, and Israel has laid claim to a massive deepwater gas field discovered in 2009.

Turkey, increasingly assertive in the region under Erdogan, disputes Israeli and Cypriot offshore territorial claims and says Cyprus should not exploit resources until it resolves a stand-off with its breakaway Turkish-speaking north.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-s-erdogan-calls-israel-s-offshore-gas-drilling-madness-1.385798

Notice how Cyprus can't make unilateral decisions outside of negotiations?

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1. UPDATE 1-Turkey-N.Cyprus gas deal set to escalate tensions

ANKARA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Turkey signed a deal with the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state on Wednesday to pave the way for offshore gas exploration in a move set to escalate regional tensions over Mediterranean energy reserves.

On Tuesday, the Greek Cypriot government, which has been at loggerheads with Turkey since its military invasion of north Cyprus in 1974, said drilling had begun in a southeastern offshore block, adjoining a gas field in Israeli waters reputed to be the world's largest find of the past decade.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan described the offshore gas drilling by Cyprus and Turkey's estranged ally Israel as "madness" before signing the deal with the Turkish Cypriots to clear the path for Turkish exploration off northern Cyprus.

"The continental shelf delimitation agreement between Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has been signed now in New York between Erdogan and Dervis Eroglu," an official at the prime minister's office told Reuters, referring to the Turkish Cypriot leader.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/21/turkey-cyprus-idUKL5E7KL60K20110921

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2. Turkey, in coordination with US, to impose sanctions on Syria

Turkey is considering sanctions on Syria and will coordinate its actions with the United States in this regard, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

Erdoğan, speaking to reporters after a meeting with US President Barack Obama in New York on Tuesday, also said his government had ended contacts with the Syrian administration. “I terminated my contacts with the Syrian administration. We never wished to arrive at this point but unfortunately the Syrian administration has led us here,” the prime minister said.

Turkey, once a close ally of President Bashar al-Assad, has gradually stepped up its criticism of the Syrian regime after it responded with brutal force to anti-regime protests. Despite public criticism of the violence, Turkey has not imposed sanctions on Syria. Turkish officials have also said they have not been in contact with Syrian authorities after they refused to heed Turkey's calls for reform and an end to the violence.

Erdoğan said Turkey is now preparing sanctions on Syria, and added that the preparations will be coordinated with the US. “They have their own sanctions on Syria that are already under way. Our foreign ministers will jointly review what our sanctions might be,” said Erdoğan, adding that Syria's conditions and its demographic features will be taken into consideration when the sanctions are drafted.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-257465-turkey-in-coordination-with-us-to-impose-sanctions-on-syria.html

[Exilednight]

3. Here's the bigger problem, the technology to extract that gas safely still doesn't exist. n/t