Turkey Muscles-In on the Israel-Greece-Cyprus EastMed Gas Pipeline Deal

by Soeren Kern • January 13, 2020 at 5:00 am

The bilateral agreement between Turkey and Libya — which establishes a new Turkey-Libya economic zone that the EastMed pipeline would now have to cross — appears aimed at giving Turkey more leverage over the project.
"The recent Turkey-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States and does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third States." — Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Consilium.Europea.eu, January 9, 2020
In May 2019, Turkey announced that it would begin drilling for gas in waters claimed by Cyprus.... In October 2019, Turkey defied the European Union by sending another drilling ship, the Yavuz, to operate inside waters claimed by Cyprus. Cyprus accused Turkey of a "severe escalation" of violations of its sovereign rights.

Israel, Greece and Cyprus have signed an agreement for a pipeline project to ship natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean region to Europe. The EastMed project, which would bypass Turkey, could eventually supply up to 10% of Europe's natural gas needs. Pictured: Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis (left), Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (center) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands in Athens on January 2, ahead of signing the pipeline agreement. (Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel, Greece and Cyprus have signed an agreement for a pipeline project to ship natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean region to Europe. The deal comes amid increasing tensions with Turkey as Ankara seeks to expand its claims over gas-rich areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, along with their energy ministers, signed the so-called EastMed pipeline deal in Athens on January 2.

The 6-billion-euro ($6.6 billion) project envisages the construction of a 1,900-kilometer (1,180-mile) undersea pipeline that would carry up to 20 billion cubic meters of gas a year from Israeli and Cypriot waters to Crete and then on to the Greek mainland. From there, the gas would be transported to Italy and other countries in southeastern Europe.

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Iran-US: Advantage Trump

by Alain Destexhe • January 13, 2020 at 4:00 am

Europe, too, will have to draw a few conclusions. The European attempt, initiated by France, Germany and the United Kingdom, to circumvent American sanctions on Iran should cease.
In reality, the Iranian regime has just lost a round in its long conflict with the United States. Such air disasters have a lasting effect on people's minds. The Iranian regime is emerging from this crisis weaker and more isolated than ever before. Trump wins for now.

The Iranian regime is proving to be totally incompetent: incapable of managing the funeral of the so-called "martyr" Qassem Soleimani, which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people, but capable of shooting down "as a result of human error" a commercial flight with 82 of its own nationals on board and killing a total of 176 passengers and crew members. Pictured: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by Atta Kernare/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran has emerged completely discredited from the recent phase of conflict with the United States and US President Donald J. Trump appears, for the time being, to be the big winner.

The Iranian regime is proving to be totally incompetent: incapable of managing the funeral of the so-called "martyr" Qassem Soleimani, which resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people, but capable of shooting down "as a result of human error" a commercial flight with 82 of its own nationals on board and killing a total of 176 passengers and crew members. This is the same regime that now announces the resumption of its nuclear weapons program. The bomb could be launched "by mistake," of course, at Israel - or dropped on a neighboring country, such as Sunni states in the Gulf, or even on Iran itself.

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