Turkey will send a second drillship to the Eastern Mediterranean, the country’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, as tensions over exploration rights off Cyprus continue to escalate.
He said that seismic exploration has been completed, and the time has come to start drilling.
The drillship “Fatih” which was dispatched on Friday from the southern port of Antalya with three support vessels, will be joined by the “Yavuz,” which according to Daily Sabah, will begin drilling wells in the region soon.
A twin of the Fatih, the sixth-generation drillship Yavuz was bought for $262.5 million and has a length of 229 meters (751 feet) and a weight of 21,283 gross tons.
Speaking during a joint press conference with his Kyrgyzstan counterpart Chingiz Aidarbekov, Cavusoglu shrugged off reports that Cypriot authorities have launched procedures to have an international arrest warrant issued for the crew of the Fatih, now off Cyprus.
“We do not take such threats seriously,” the Turkish foreign minister said.
On Monday, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades likened Turkey’s actions inside the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to a “second invasion” and a violation of international law.
“It is clearly a violation of international law, or, as I could describe it, a second invasion, considering the violation of the Republic of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone,” he said.
Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are expected to brief European Union leaders on Thursday at the informal European Council in Romania about Turkey’s illegal drilling activities.
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