Türkiye slams Greek Cyprus-Lebanon maritime delimitation deal

ANKARA

Türkiye has criticized an agreement between Greek Cyprus and Lebanon on the delimitation of the maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean on the basis that it ignores the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots as the sovereign equal part of the island.

“The signing of such an agreement by Lebanon or other coastal states in the region with the Greek Cypriot Administration directly concerns the equal rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots on the Island,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Öncü Keçeli said in a statement upon a question on Nov. 27.

Keçeli’s statement followed the signing of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Delimitation Agreement between Greek Cyprus and Lebanon on Nov. 26.

“Even though the area subject to the said agreement lies outside the Turkish continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean, which Türkiye registered with the U.N. on 18 March 2020, Türkiye approaches the issue in the context of the Cyprus issue and the rights of the Turkish Cypriots,” Keçeli recalled.

The Greek administration neither represents the Turkish Cypriots nor the island as a whole and that it does not have the authority to undertake such steps on behalf of the entire Cyprus, he added.

“We call upon the international community, in particular the regional countries, not to back these unilateral actions of the Greek Cypriot Administration and not to lend support to attempts to usurp the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots, who are sovereign equals on the Island,” the spokesman said.

Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides described the agreement as a milestone of strategic importance and historic, stressing that the two countries will continue to cooperate in various fields, including energy.

The two countries seek to establish an electric interconnected system through the funds of the World Bank.

For his part, Lebanese President Joseph Khalil Aoun said the deal does not target anyone and does not exclude anyone, in a bid to sooth down Türkiye’s reactions.