Washington, DC.- A former US diplomat has called on Turkey to strike a “grand bargain” with Cyprus, lifting its claim on the island in exchange for transferring Cypriot gas to Europe via Turkey. The statement was made by former US diplomat Matthew Bryza, a familiar face in Cyprus in the last decade, during a roundtable discussion organised by Turkish Policy Quarterly.
Bryza, who spent over five years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, was quoted by Turkish Hurriyet Daily News expressing his views at the roundtable discussion on the possibility of transferring Cypriot natural gas to Europe via Turkey.
According to the former US diplomat, transferring gas from Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone to Europe via Turkey makes sense economically yet striking a deal remains inconceivable in light of Turkey’s strained relations with Cyprus and Israel.
It is “economically ridiculous” to run a pipeline from Cyprus to Greece via Crete, he said.
It would be much more economically advantageous to collect gas from the Eastern Mediterranean at Limassol, transfer it to the north of Cyprus and from there on to Turkey via pipeline.
“It’ll be a shame if politics gets in the way…But politics will have to lead,” said Bryza.
He added that Turkey’s relations with Israel also make it impossible to strike a deal.
Bryza noted that convincing Greek Cypriots to put their economic future in the hands of Turkey was too much to ask of them.
“A grand bargain, in which Turkey could lift its claim on Cyprus is necessary, but the deadlock between Turkey and Israel makes these types of projections difficult to pursue,” he was quoted saying.
Bryza ended his time as deputy assistant in 2011 when he was appointed US Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
He now lives and works with his family in Istanbul as a consultant as well as being director of the Tallinn-based International Centre for Defence Studies.
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