Cyprus says oil dispute hurts Turkey EU accession

By Ingrid Melander

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou said on Wednesday a dispute over offshore oil exploration was damaging Turkey's efforts to join the European Union and showed Ankara was becoming unpredictable.

Cyprus, an EU member state, is blocking Turkey's EU accession talks on energy issues because of the dispute.

It has accused Turkey of harassing hydrocarbon research vessels four times since November 13. Turkey has said the ships, on two previously known occasions, encroached on its continental shelf.

"The reaction of Turkey is illegal, unjustified and definitely this gunboat diplomacy belongs to the 19th century, not to a modern state of the 21st century which wishes to join the EU," Kyprianou told Reuters in an interview.

Asked if he feared there would be more incidents over the oil exploration, he said: "I don't think we can predict how Turkey will react or behave.

"I am afraid they are becoming very unpredictable, which again is not compliant with their obligations to have good neighbourly relations, which is something which is demanded of them by the EU."

Kyprianou said Cyprus was being harassed and obstructed by Turkey in its oil exploration and would not agree to let accession talks on energy start until the dispute was resolved.

France, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, had hoped to open energy talks with Turkey before the end of this year.