Turkey Pushes Regional Tensions To Breaking Point

[TomSea]

Turkey Pushes Regional Tensions To Breaking Point
Vanand Meliksetian

Turkey’s geography has been a blessing to the country's strategic value. After the Second World War, the U.S. moved quickly to include Ankara in the new Trans-Atlantic alliance. However, tensions between Turkey and its Western allies have damaged the relations between the partners and could end up changing the geopolitical landscape. Recently, Ankara has again caused controversy and unrest by engaging in drilling activities in Cyprus’ EEZ. Turkey risks being isolated from its most important economic and military partners in the West due to its confrontational policies.

A Mediterranean El Dorado

The Eastern Mediterranean has been become the latest focus of energy companies due to the discovery of significant gas reserves. The area has proven to be rich in energy resources, and Egypt, Israel and Cyprus have recently made significant discoveries. Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, also, have the potential for substantial discoveries due similar geographic conditions. Turkey, however, is one of the few countries that has been left behind in the recent flurry of energy discoveries.

In the meantime, Egypt and Israel have made significant progress regarding production at the recently discovered gas fields in their EEZ. Cairo already housed two liquefaction facilities at Idku and Damietta, which were constructed during the previous gas boom but were mothballed at the beginning of this decade when domestic consumption and quicker than expected depletion evaporated export dreams. Israel was also quick to take advantage of the discoveries meaning that production has already started. The Jewish state stands to benefit from energy independence due to its isolated and precarious situation in the Middle East.

Read more at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/turkey-pushes-regional-tensions-breaking-190000477.html