Former Ambassador says Turkish claims in Cyprus' EEZ are unfounded
Former Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus Andreas Iacovides has described the announcement of the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Cyprus' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as ''legally unfounded''.
Iacovides, who served in the past as head of the Cypriot delegation for the Convention of the Law of the Sea, was invited to comment on the announcement issued on Wednesday by the Turkish Foreign Ministry regarding the second international tender for off-shore hydrocarbon exploration called by the Republic of Cyprus.
Turkey has claimed that certain sections of some of these blocks ''are overlapping with Turkey’s continental shelf areas in the Eastern Mediterranean''.
Moreover, the Turkish Ministry warned that Turkey ''will not allow under any circumstances foreign oil companies to conduct unauthorised oil/natural gas exploration and exploitation activities in these overlapping areas and will take all necessary measures to protect its rights and interests in the maritime areas falling within its continental shelf''.
In statements to CNA, Iacovides said that the Turkish claims that five of the 13 blocks of Cyprus' EEZ, namely 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7, are in Turkey's continental shelf, are ''legally unfounded and geomorphologically baseless''.
''If Turkey wishes to question Cypriot positions regarding those blocks, as they have been agreed with Egypt in 2003, the response to every member of the international community which respects the international law, is found in the negotiations between Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus, (which Turkey still refuses to recognise). If no solution is found, the dispute will be referred to arbitration of a third party, or the International Court of Justice in The Hague'', he pointed out.
(source: www.famagusta-gazette.com)
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