The Republic of Cyprus will resolutely continue its policy in the field of hydrocarbons in full respect of international and European law, the Foreign Ministry has said, recalling that Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has taken a clear position affirming that Turkish Cypriots will benefit from the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the context of an agreed settlement of the Cyprus problem. It calls on Turkey to contribute in tangible terms to the resumption of the negotiating process and the achievement of a speedy reunification of Cyprus.
In a press release on Friday, published by the Press and Information Office (PIO), the Foreign Ministry replies to a press release issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on the hydrocarbon – related activities of Cyprus in its EEZ and continental shelf.
“The statement once more demonstrates Turkey’s disregard for conventional and customary International Law, as reflected in United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, and contempt for the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus over its continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone,” the press release says.
It adds that “international law provides that a country’s natural wealth belongs to the state and the responsibility for managing it lies with its Government for the benefit of all its citizens.”
It further points out that “consequently, actions that put into question the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus not only contradict International Law, but are also completely groundless.”
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “it is regrettable that Turkey once more resorts to threats, in order to advance its own interests under the pretext of “concerns” over the rights of the Turkish Cypriots.”
“The Republic of Cyprus will resolutely continue its policy in the field of hydrocarbons, in full respect of International and European Law,” it notes.
At the same time it recalls that “the President of the Republic Cyprus has taken a clear position affirming that Turkish Cypriots will benefit from the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the context of an agreed settlement of the Cyprus problem.”
“In the bicommunal negotiations, it was agreed that natural resources will fall within the competences of the federal government,” it says.
“To this end, Turkey is called upon to contribute in tangible terms to the resumption of the negotiating process and the achievement of a speedy reunification of Cyprus, through a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem that will allow all Cypriots to enjoy their rights freely and peacefully,” the press release concludes.
In the Turkish Ministry`s press release its spokesperson Ambassador Hüseyin Müftüoğlu says, among others, that Turkey expects “the Greek Cypriot side, which refuses to accept the Turkish Cypriots as politically equal partners on the island, to refrain from acting as though it were the sole owner of the usland’s natural resources and to cease its hydrocarbon-related activities.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN led talks between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities resumed in May 2015 with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.
The talks were interrupted in mid February by the Turkish Cypriot side, which demands that a decision passed by the Cypriot Parliament relating to a 1950 referendum on union with Greece is revoked, claiming this indicates a shift in the Greek Cypriot side`s goal for a federal solution. The amendment provides that there will be a very brief reference one a year to the referendum at schools.
President Anastasiades has described the House decision as wrong and called on the leader of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, who walked out of the talks, to return to the negotiating table to discuss pending issues with a view to reach a mutually acceptable agreement to reunite the country.
