Turkey provokes by sending a Note Verbable to the UN Secretary-General

Statement by Toumazos Tsielepis, Head of the Cyprus Problem Office of the C.C. of AKEL

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 29th April 2014, Nicosia

 

Turkey’s action to send a Note Verbale to the United Nations Secretary-General with regards the submission of the geographical coordinates of the so-called “agreement for the delineation of a continental shelf” with the pseudo-state constitutes an intolerable provocation that cannot, and indeed must not, go unnoticed. The fact that this action was taken just a few days before the start of the substantive phase of the negotiations raises legitimate questions regarding the real intentions of Turkey.

For sure this “agreement” from the outset is legally non-existent and invalid, given that it has been concluded with an illegal entity and as such clashes with fundamental principles of International Law, the United Nations Charter and the Law of the Sea. In addition, the “agreement” is in blatant conflict with the convergence that had been achieved with Talat in relation to the marine areas, including the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone. Among other things, the “agreement” grants to the pseudo-state only territorial waters and to Turkey almost the entire continental shelf.

This new provocative action undermines the negotiating procedure, indeed at the time when it is entering its substantive stage. We strongly denounce this unacceptable behaviour and expect the appropriate response by the United Nations since these actions which undermine the on-going new efforts to solve the Cyprus problem cannot be tolerated.