Nicosia brushes aside Turkish objections over block 6 exploration
Nicosia has reacted to objections from Turkey to planned hydrocarbon exploration in block 6, within the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), that was recently licensed to a consortium of Italy's Eni and France's Total.
In a letter to the United Nations’ general assembly, Turkey’s permanent representative to the UN, Feridun Sinirlioglu, said the area “partially falls within the outer limits of Turkey’s continental shelf in the eastern Mediterranean” and described the licensing as a “provocative act.”
“Turkey is committed to protecting its sovereign rights emanating from international law and will not allow foreign companies to conduct unauthorized hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities on its continental shelf,” the letter said.
Speaking to Cyprus News Agency, Cyprus’s permanent representative to the UN Cornelios Corneliou brushed aside objections from Ankara as a “repetition of Turkey’s position, which we certainly reject.”
“Our reactions will continue in every possible forum,” he said.
