17/5/16

TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW

TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S


No. 90/16                                                                                              17.05.2016

1. Akinci was not invited to the wedding of Erdogan’s daughter
2. Siber met with Todd
3. Tacoy called Akinci not to make concessions on the rotating presidency and the cross voting issues at the negotiating table
4. Caglar will attend a meeting of PACE in Stockholm
5. Sucuoglu on the new “hospital” to be constructed in the occupied part of Lefkosia
6. Ukrainian Ambassador: Natural gas storage at Turkey's disposal
7. Norwegian Statoil to explore for natural gas in Turkey


1. Akinci was not invited to the wedding of Erdogan’s daughter
Gokhan Altiner, writes in his daily “Backstage” column in Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris Postasi newspaper (17.05.16) that the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci was not invited to the wedding of the daughter of the Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Noting that more than six thousand persons were invited to the wedding, including political leaders and high representatives of various countries, Altiner writes that an invitation was never issued to Akinci. He also notes that this was confirmed by one of Akinci’s advisors Cenk Gurcag. “I can very clearly say that Mr Akinci did not participate in the wedding because he has not received an invitation”, Gurcag said to the journalist.

Altiner goes on and suggests that this is a bit strange since “the sensitivity of Erdogan towards both the Turkish Cypriots and the daughter country is known and always gives value and importance to these issues”.
(CS)

2. Siber met with Todd
Turkish Cypriot daily Haberal Kibrisli (17.05.16) reports that the “speaker” of the so-called assembly Sibel Siber met with the British High Commissioner in Cyprus Damian Roderick Todd.

No statements were made before or after the meeting.
(AK)

3. Tacoy called Akinci not to make concessions on the rotating presidency and the cross voting issues at the negotiating table
Turkish Cypriot daily Haberal Kibrisli newspaper (17.05.16) reports on statements by the former “minister of transportation and communication”, and “independent deputy” Hasan Tacoy, who in exclusive statements to the paper, referred, inter alia, to the Cyprus negotiation process and argued that although the Turkish Cypriot’s rights at the negotiation talks are ignored, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci is not reacting to this.

Tacoy called on Akinci not to make any concessions at the negotiating table and said: “By making a concession, another one will derive”. He called also Akinci not to accept and enter to a bargaining on the issue of the rotating presidency and the cross voting.  

Referring to the hydrocarbon exploration activities of the “Greek Cypriot administration” as he called the Republic of Cyprus, Tacoy claimed that it is unacceptable the tenders for giving licenses to international companies to carry out exploration activities around Cyprus. “We should react to the hydrocarbon agreements. At the end of the day, this would be used against us and will be the reason to make more concessions”, Tacoy added.
Tacoy accused also the European Union for using Cyprus and several other elements to blackmail Turkey.
(AK)

4. Caglar will attend a meeting of PACE in Stockholm
Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen (17.05.16) reports that the self-styled deputy with the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Mehmet Caglar will attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Stockholm on the 17th  and 18th of May. He will return to the occupied area on Thursday.
(DPs)

5. Sucuoglu on the new “hospital” to be constructed in the occupied part of Lefkosia
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (17.05.16) reports that the so-called minister of health Faiz Sucuoglu, in exclusive statements to Kibris TV, referred to the problems and deficiencies that exist in the health system of the breakaway regime and stated that they will exert efforts, step by step, in order to find solution to these problems.

Referring to the new hospital which is planned to be constructed in the occupied part of Lefkosia, Sucuoglu said that this will be built in a plot of land which is near the illegal BRT offices.

Sucuoglu stated also that they went to Turkey where they made inspections at the hospitals there and added that they would take them as examples to implement their projects for the new hospital to be built.

Sucuoglu explained also that they had asked for the amount of 350-400 million TL by Turkey as a contribution to the investment and added that if Turkey could not give this money, they will implement the “Build-Operate-Transfer” model.
(AK)


6. Ukrainian Ambassador: Natural gas storage at Turkey's disposal
According to Turkish daily Sabah newspaper (online, 17.05.16), Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey, Dr Sergiy Korsunsky said that they are working with Turkish companies to provide storage in western Ukraine. Stating that Kiev is ready to provide the additional natural gas storage capacity Turkey needs, the Ambassador said they are working with Turkish companies to allow usage of storage facilities in western Ukraine and that, although there is no current agreement, Naftogaz and the Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAŞ) are currently in contact.

Evaluating the energy agenda of Turkey and Ukraine, Korsunsky recalled that Turkey purchases nearly 27 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia annually. According to Korsunsky, it will not be impossible for Turkey to break its connections with Russia right away. Twenty-seven billion cubic meters of natural gas purchased by Turkey is not an amount that can be immediately replaced with liquefied natural gas (LNG), a fact that increases the importance of Azeri and Turkmen gas. Stating that Turkey had valid reasons to improve its LNG facilities, Korsunsky said the main problem lies with gas storage since the capacity of natural gas storages in Turkey is extremely limited. Stressing that Turkey might not build facilities that can store large amounts of gas due to geological hindrances, Korsunsky said, for this reason, they are currently working with Turkish companies to use storage facilities in western Ukraine. The Ambassador also stressed that Turkish experts have visited the storage facilities and are familiar with their structure.

Indicating that Turkey bought the only gas it could store from Russia, Korsunsky said Russia might oppose Turkey's storage use in Ukraine. The Ambassador said some arrangements could be made for the gas storage, which would come from the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, and added that there would not be any legal problems. According to Korsunsky, things should be followed step-by-step.

Turkey should first source gas from alternative sources before Ukrainian storage would be ready to use - similar to how Turkish gas used during the winter is stored in Ukraine during the summer. He also said oil may be sold to Europe without incident. Stressing that the total capacity of natural gas storage in Ukraine was 34 billion cubic meters, Korsunsky said: "We are in contact with Turkey and Europe. The storage facilities are yours. We guarantee that no matter how much gas you place in storage, you will take the same amount back.”

7. Norwegian Statoil to explore for natural gas in Turkey
According to Turkish daily Sabah newspaper (online, 17.05.16), Norwegian-based energy company Statoil signed a binding letter agreement for a license, together with Canadian Valeura, to explore for natural gas in Turkey's Thrace region. The exploration license covers an area of 540 km2.

According to the company's written statement, the agreement was signed with Valeura, whose previous natural gas exploration has mainly focused on Tekirdag's Banarli district. While Statoil has a 50% share in the Canadian company's Banarlı Licenses, the rest will belong to Valeura, which is currently traded in the Toronto Stock Exchange.

According to the agreement, the natural gas exploration works in Thrace will be accelerated, and gas is planned to be drilled from one of the wells in the region by early 2017.  The exploration of the two companies will measure the gas potential left in the depths of the region. The exploration area encompasses 540 km2. Canadian Valeura has been exploring for oil and natural gas in Turkey for nearly four years.

Valeura found natural gas in three different wells in the Thrace region and has begun production. The Canadian company has a total of 14 explorations and production licenses in Thrace, as well as an oil exploration license in Gaziantep.
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TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs / AM)