Turkey Backing Up Controversial Energy Search – with Drones

A Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle landed on Monday morning in northern Cyprus. The Reuters news agency says that according to an unnamed official in Turkey, Ankara sent the drone to assist Turkish vessels searching for gas and oil in the waters off the Mediterranean island. The search has caused consternation in Greece because mainly Turkish northern Cyprus broke away from the rest of the island, the mainly Greek Republic of Cyprus, in the mid-1970s, muddling the borders and – of great importance here – the demarcation of economic zones, especially those offshore. Athens is a member of the European Union and the EU has put Turkey on notice, although it has made no threats of a military nature. The drone that landed on Monday was said to be unarmed, but the government in the North, which refers to itself as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, says it recently certified the airfield to operate weaponized drones as well.