House passes resolution condemning Turkey’s actions in EEZ

The House on Thursday approved a resolution denouncing Turkey’s recent actions seen as an encroachment into Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Noting that Turkey’s actions were in breach of international law, the resolution calls on Ankara to abandon any designs on the EEZ, calls on the EU and the international community to pressure Turkey into complying with international legitimacy and with the UN Law of the Sea, and calls on Cyprus’ EU partners and EU institutions to take sanctions against Turkey should the latter persist with its aggressive policy toward Cyprus.

Last week Turkey for the first time announced plans to carry out seismic surveys within offshore blocks of Cyprus’ EEZ off the island’s south coast, including a block where an Italian-Korean consortium is currently carrying out exploratory drilling.

Previous Turkish forays into the EEZ had stayed just outside of licensed blocks.

Under the latest marine advisory issued by Turkish authorities, the seismic surveys will be taking place from October 20 to December 30.

Ankara’s move led the government to suspend peace talks with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.