US never asked Turkey to issue Navtex

The United States has not asked Turkey to issue a Navtex in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), US Ambassador to Cyprus Kathleen Ann Doherty told the Cyprus government on Wednesday.
Her statement came after Cyprus had sought clarifications from the USA following Turkish and Turkish Cypriot press reports to the effect that the US had requested a Navtex.
In her response to Nicosia, Doherty reaffirmed that “all US military exercises in any exclusive economic zone are done with due regard to the rights and duties of the coastal state in the EEZ as required under international law”.
The United States, she added, has also reiterated that it “recognises the right of Cyprus to develop, explore and exploit its resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone.”
Furthermore, Washington stressed that “the United States did not request a Navtex.”
Turkey had issued a Navtex for a US warship scheduled to tug an underwater structure on Monday inside the Cypriot EEZ.

The boat was to operate in an area illegally designated by Turkey, in an earlier Navtex, for “research by seismic research vessel Barbaros”.

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot press reports suggested the US government had requested Turkey to issue a Navtex on its behalf, prompting enquiries by the government of Cyprus.

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.