Turkey on Tuesday urged Egypt and Lebanon to delay oil and gas exploration deals with Cyprus, saying the agreement infringed the rights of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet on the divided island.
The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) " also has rights and jurisdiction over the seas surrounding the island," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
" The Greek Cypriot administration does not represent the whole of the island. For this reason, we deem the agreements they signed invalid," it added.
Turkey also has " legitimate and legal rights and interests" in the region, the statement said.
" Turkey is determined to protect its rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and will not allow attempts that would erode them," it said.
The internationally-recognised Cypriot government in the Greek-populated south of the island signed an agreement with Lebanon on January 17 for the delineation of an undersea border to facilitate future oil and gas exploration.
Similar accords were struck with Egypt last year.
Turkey has asked both Egypt and Lebanon to put the agreements on hold, the ministry statement said.
" We remind countries or companies that might be interested in oil and gas exploration to take into consideration the will of the Turkish Cypriots and not take any initiatives that would adversely affect the resolution of the Cyprus issue," it said.
The deals with Egypt and Lebanon also angered Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, who warned last week of heightened tensions if potential offshore oil and gas deposits were not jointly exploited by both communities.
Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974, when Turkey seized its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
AFP
The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) " also has rights and jurisdiction over the seas surrounding the island," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
" The Greek Cypriot administration does not represent the whole of the island. For this reason, we deem the agreements they signed invalid," it added.
Turkey also has " legitimate and legal rights and interests" in the region, the statement said.
" Turkey is determined to protect its rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and will not allow attempts that would erode them," it said.
The internationally-recognised Cypriot government in the Greek-populated south of the island signed an agreement with Lebanon on January 17 for the delineation of an undersea border to facilitate future oil and gas exploration.
Similar accords were struck with Egypt last year.
Turkey has asked both Egypt and Lebanon to put the agreements on hold, the ministry statement said.
" We remind countries or companies that might be interested in oil and gas exploration to take into consideration the will of the Turkish Cypriots and not take any initiatives that would adversely affect the resolution of the Cyprus issue," it said.
The deals with Egypt and Lebanon also angered Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, who warned last week of heightened tensions if potential offshore oil and gas deposits were not jointly exploited by both communities.
Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974, when Turkey seized its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
AFP