The Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı has said that the Eastern Mediterranean gas can only be transferred to Europe via the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Stating that big opportunities will emerge for the TRNC soon, he said gas in the Eastern Mediterranean will bring peace to the region and help develop the TRNC’s economy.

Minister Arıklı touched upon the Eastern Mediterranean gas issue during an event he attended on Sunday.

Stating that the way for Eastern Mediterranean gas to be transferred to Europe via the TRNC and Turkiye had been opened, he noted that the EastMed project which the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo cherished with great expectations had collapsed once the US had withdrawn its support from the project.

“Even if the Greek Cypriots find gas in the disputed areas they have no other option but to transport this gas to Europe via Turkiye. The same applies for Israel,” Arıklı stressed.

He argued that had Mustafa Akıncı and not Ersin Tatar won the presidential elections, then we would have had a federal settlement in Cyprus and Turkiye would have been excluded from the picture.

“The US changed its strategy following the election of Tatar. It withdrew its support for the EastMed project,” Arıklı added.