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Nicosia 'Concerned' Over Turkey's Position on Cyprus EEZ

Nicholas Emiliou
Nicosia has expressed grave concern over Turkey’s questioning the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus to its exclusive economic zone and its exploration and exploitation of natural reserves.
Cyprus’ Permanent Representative to the UN, Nicholas Emiliou, in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, noted that “Turkey’s fulfillment of all its obligations arising from the UN Charter and international law is the only mutually beneficial path ahead.”
In his letter, Emiliou expresses the government’s “grave disappointment and concern over a press statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry on March 25, 2016, which constitutes yet another example of Turkey’s continued provocative and destabilizing attitude vis-a-vis the Republic of Cyprus.”
The Republic exercising its sovereign right, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, has recently called for a third international tender for hydrocarbon exploration in its exclusive economic zone, added the letter.
The tender was published in the Official Journal of the EU on March 24, 2016.
In its press statement, the Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry continues to call into question the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus to an exclusive economic zone and its exploration and exploitation, outlined Emiliou.
“Turkey’s deplorable position, based on an arbitrary interpretation of international treaties and conventions, is totally unfounded and lacks any legal basis,” added the Cypriot Ambassador.
“In addition, it constitutes further proof of its continuing refusal to comply with international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, especially resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984).”
The Permanent Representative further commented that “it would be redundant to underline, once more, that the Republic of Cyprus, a member state of the UN, is fully entitled to legitimately exercise all its sovereign rights deriving from international law over both its land and marine territories.”
This includes Cyprus’ sovereign rights over its EEZ and continental shelf, as guaranteed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which was ratified by the Republic of Cyprus in 1988, remarked Emiliou.
“It is regrettable that Turkey uses as a pretext for its assertions, the protection of the rights of Turkish Cypriots. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has repeatedly made it abundantly clear that Cyprus’s natural wealth belongs to the people of Cyprus — that is to say, to all citizens of the Republic of Cyprus. Following the resolution of the Cyprus problem, all people of the island will reap the benefits of their country’s natural resources,” noted Emiliou.
Source: CNA

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