March 29, 2024

Water connection between Turkey and the occupied areas

MFA’s Press Release regarding the water connection between Turkey and the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus

20 October 2015

The water connection between Turkey and the Turkish occupied areas through a subsea pipeline violates international law, as well as the laws of the Republic of Cyprus, and is an illegal act which aims at integrating the occupied areas with Turkey, to further consolidate the occupation and to maximize Turkey’s influence and control over Cyprus. The illegal water connection constitutes yet another Turkish fait-accompli which occurs during a very critical phase of the negotiation process of resolving the Cyprus problem. With this action, Turkey reinforces its presence in the Turkish occupied areas, not only through maintaining ownership of the water that will be transferred to Cyprus, but also by dictating the terms of its management.

The water issue is a topic that undoubtedly concerns the whole of Cyprus and which the Republic of Cyprus, for many years now, has successfully dealt with through the implementation of innovative and effective policies. Turkey’s assertion that the water will benefit all of Cyprus is intended only to create false impression and is unfounded, since the pipeline does not have the capacity to cover the needs of the whole island. Furthermore, the pipeline was laid without the agreement of the Government of Cyprus.

At this stage, what is needed is to focus on efforts for resolving the Cyprus problem and leading to the reunification of Cyprus as soon as possible. Only in a reunified Cyprus will it be possible to formulate and implement a holistic strategy development and to address various issues, including that water-supply problem, without foreign intervention, control, or undue dependencies.