Its strong annoyance with the signing of the demarcation agreement by and with particularly harsh diplomatic language was expressed by the statement of the representative of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which it becomes clear that Ankara wants to use the occupied territories to intervene in the matter, since as the relevant text notes “Although the area, which the said agreement concerns, is beyond the Turkish continental shelf in Eastern Mediterranean, as we registered it on March 18, 2020 at the UN, our country approaches the issue in the context of the Cyprus issue and the rights of the Turkish Cypriots”.
Responding to a related question, the representative of the ministry, Ountzou Ketzeli, argued that the Cyprus-Lebanon agreement did not take into account the “rights” and “interests” of the Turkish Cypriots, while making it clear that he considers the agreement a “unilateral move” that should not be supported by the international community.
More specifically, in the relevant post, on the website of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regarding Ketzeli’s response, it states:
“Regarding the Exclusive Economic Zone Demarcation Agreement signed between Lebanon and the “Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus” (“EGTC”):
The “Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus” (“EDNK”) has been signing bilateral agreements with neighboring countries in the region since 2003, regarding the demarcation of the maritime zones around the island, ignoring the Turkish Cypriots, who are a dominant and equal component of the island of Cyprus.
Most recently, the Agreement on the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which was concluded between Lebanon and the “EEZ” in 2007 but had not entered into force, was re-signed yesterday (November 26) between the two countries.
Although the area covered by this agreement is beyond the Turkish continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean, which we registered with the UN on March 18, 2020, our country approaches the issue in the context of Cyprus and the rights of Turkish Cypriots.
The signing of such an agreement by Lebanon or other neighboring countries in the region with the “EDNK” directly concerns the equal rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots on the island.
We would like to remind you that the “EDNK” does not represent the Turkish Cypriots, nor the whole of the island, and does not have the authority to take such actions concerning the whole of the island.
We call on the international community, and especially the countries of the region, not to support the unilateral actions of the “EDNK” and not to become a tool in attempts to circumvent the legal rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots, who are a dominant and equal component of the island.
Turkey, together with the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”), will continue to resolutely defend the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots.
In a related Reuters report on the matter, the agency states that in the press briefing by the representative, the latter stated, among other things, that: “It is not possible for us to accept any agreement in which the rights of the “TRBK” are ignored.”
The representative also reportedly tried to make an “opening” to Lebanon, since again according to Reuters he stated that: “We assess that this agreement, which ignores the rights of the TRNC, also violates the interests of the Lebanese people, and we inform our Lebanese counterparts that we are ready for cooperation on maritime jurisdiction issues.”
