March 29, 2024

Ambassador Emiliou responds to New York Times article on Cyprus

The article ‘Race for gas by Cypriot rivals adds to tensions’ (NY Times 8.31.12) by James kanter is based on a wrong point of departure.  Instead of questioning the legality of the presence of Turkey in Cyprus,   where it maintains since 1974 an occupation army of 40,000 troops, it conveys false impressions about the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus, an independent state, member of the UN and EU.  It is Turkey’s illegal occupation army at the root of any tension or potential threat for friction on the island and its army that prevent  the Turkish Cypriots from sharing together with the Greek Cypriots the dream of building a prosperous and peaceful future for them and their future generations.  From an international legality point of view, the Republic of Cyprus has a sovereign right and jurisdiction in its EEZ and over its continental shelf, as enshrined in the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, in customary and domestic law.  On the contrary any exploration activities by Turkey or its subordinate local administration in occupied Cyprus are without any legal effect, neither do they prejudice those rights in any way.