Members of Turkey’s parliament were on Wednesday night incensed by the commencement of drilling for natural gas off the coast of Cyprus and a perceived lack of government action on the matter.

The debate was centred around drilling work being carried out by American multinational corporation ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy in Block 5 of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which had commenced last Friday.

Ruling AK Party deputy leader Leyla Sahin Usta explained that according to maritime claims recognised by the Turkish government, Block 5 belongs to Egypt and not Turkey, and that thus it is not Turkey’s place to protest against or attempt to stop ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy’s operations.

“According to our Blue Homeland map, this is within Egypt’s continental shelf,” she said, referencing the Turkish government’s ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine regarding its claims in the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean.

However, opposition MPs were less than convinced, with Iyi Party deputy leader Turhan Comez being the first to register his distaste.

“The maps are clear, that region does not belong to Egypt,” he began, before the CHP’s energy spokesman Deniz Yavuzyilmaz also offered his own disagreement.

If it belongs to Egypt, why are the Greek Cypriots issuing a Navtex? Do not mock our intelligence. Block 5 off the coast of Cyprus has nothing to do with Egyptian territorial waters,” he said.

Comez then made a second intervention on the matter, demanding action from the government.

“The area being drilled belongs to Turkey. Where are our boats? Why can we not see the ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine on the ground? Tell the truth to parliament and to the public. The Greek Cypriots are drilling in the TRNC’s territorial waters and we are just sat here watching,” he said.

He then called on Turkey’s foreign ministry to make a statement “as soon as possible”.

Block 5 has been a cause for optimism in the Republic of Cyprus’ energy ministry, with minister George Papanastasiou having said on Monday that the finding of significant deposits there might lead to the building of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cyprus.

However, he said, decisions regarding the destination of any gas finds should be made on a case-by-case basis.

“The deposits in Cyprus’ EEZ are very scattered, so it is not economically advantageous for them all to end up in Egyptian terminals or in a floating terminal which may be built in our country. There must be the best economic solution for each deposit,” he said.