ABSTRACT
The disruption in the negotiation process between October 2014 and May 2015 was the latest episode of the ongoing dispute over the right to natural resources within Cyprus's offshore involving the Greek Cypriots, the Turkish Cypriots, and Turkey. Due to the sides' diametrically opposed views on the current political status quo on the island and the related issue of "sovereignty", offshore hydrocarbons became the subject matter of a new dispute with a serious potential to wreck the ongoing negotiations. In addition to and separate from its support of the Turkish Cypriots' rights and interests, Turkey has another complaint regarding the RoC's offshore prospecting activities. Given the connection between attitudes about hydrocarbons and broader positions on sovereignty, contrary to expectations that natural gas would help bring about a settlement, the issue has thus far served to increase tensions and undermine mutual confidence, resulting in a hardening of stances.
