The President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades has called on Turkey to understand that exploratory drilling in the Republic’s exclusive economic zone concerns the future of the country and its people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike.

In this respect, the President pointed out that Ankara’s policy of questioning Nicosia’s sovereign rights, simply because Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, has no actual standing.

“We have no threats to address, given that we exercise our sovereign rights and we do that successfully,” the President said, replying to press questions on Turkish provocations with regard to Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the recent past, as oil giant ENI began over the weekend drilling the Republic’s EEZ.

The country’s natural wealth belongs to all its legitimate inhabitants, including Turkish Cypriots, and as such any threats hailing from Ankara have no place and do not serve the interests of the people of Cyprus as a whole, he said.

“I would like to hope that Turkey will understand that the peaceful drilling, currently underway, concerns the future of Cyprus and its people, all of its people, and consequently questioning our sovereign rights, simply because Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus or because it believes that the self-styled regime in occupied Cyprus actually exists, has no actual standing,” the President pointed out.

If Turkey chooses to protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriots in a separate independent entity, then it has to limit this protection to the rights of this illegal entity and therefore it has no reason to question Cyprus’ sovereign rights, he added.

This, however, is a theory that concerns only Turkey, not Cyprus, he added.

Invited to outline his expectations from his official visit to Saudi Arabia, Anastasiades recalled that Riyadh accredited an ambassador to Cyprus, for the first time, in 2015.

«Our goal and our objective is to enhance our relations with all states and the states of the Arab Gulf,” he replied, noting that this is the fifth visit to Gulf states, barring Oman, and recalling that the Sheikh of Oman donated to Cyprus a support vessel “Alasia” , in 2017.

The government, he said, aims to follow the same strategic policy it maintains with regard to the countries of the Middle East through bilateral or trilateral cooperation in order to further deepen relations.

“This is pivotal to our future plans,” he concluded. The President pays an official visit to Saudi Arabia today and tomorrow. He will be received by the Saudi King and the Crown Prince.

Asked if there are any moves between Greece and Turkey to prepare the ground for a better organized conference on Cyprus, he said this might emerge in the coming months. The last such conference, in July last year, ended inconclusively.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, in spite of repeated calls by the international community to do so. Last week Ankara sent vessels to the Eastern Mediterranean in response to drilling by oil giant ENI in Cyprus’ EEZ.