Turkey issues new Navtex to override one Cyprus issued for Russian exercise

Turkey on Thursday issued a notice to mariners, or Navtex, with which it sought to override and annul a Navtex previously issued by Cyprus in the latter’s Search and Rescue Region.

The notice issued by the Antalya Navtex station concerns a rocket test firing exercise by the Russian navy scheduled for August 18.

The area of the planned exercise lies in waters south of the Greek island of Kastellorizo and falls within Cyprus’ Search and Rescue Region – which also happens to coincide with the Nicosia Flight Information Region.

Earlier, the Russian navy had sought and secured permission from Cyprus to conduct the wargames, and Cyprus published the relevant Navtex.

In response, Turkey has now issued a counter-Navtex for the same exercise by the Russian navy, conveying the message that only it has jurisdiction in the area, not 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.