Cyprus is set to raise Turkey’s agreement with the Turkish-occupied north of the island to build an undersea natural gas pipeline with European Union foreign ministers, arguing that the deal violates the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said he would bring the issue before his EU counterparts at Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, linking Ankara’s actions to questions over Turkey’s European ambitions and the bloc’s security.
Kombos described the memorandum as a clear violation of international law and the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus.
He said the agreement was part of a broader pattern of Turkish actions in the region.
Cyprus reports 659 violations to the UN
Kombos said Cyprus had recorded and reported 659 alleged violations of its airspace and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to the United Nations during July and August alone.
He also highlighted Turkey’s limited alignment with the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, putting the figure at just 4 per cent.
The minister questioned how Ankara’s stated ambition to advance its EU membership process could be reconciled with its current foreign policy approach.
“Four per cent for a candidate country,” Kombos said, emphasising the gap between Turkey’s European aspirations and its alignment with the bloc’s foreign policy positions.
Cyprus links enlargement to security
Kombos reiterated that Cyprus supports EU enlargement but argued that progress towards membership must depend on each candidate country’s performance and its fulfilment of the relevant accession criteria.
He warned that enlargement without sufficient scrutiny could undermine, rather than strengthen, the European Union’s security and capabilities.
“We encourage Turkey to view its European path as an opportunity and not as a debt owed to it,” he said.
The dispute adds another point of tension between Nicosia and Ankara, with Cyprus seeking to ensure that Turkey’s actions in the Eastern Mediterranean are considered in wider EU discussions about enlargement, international law and regional security.
The post Cyprus Challenges Turkey’s Gas Pipeline Deal Over Occupied Territories appeared first on Greek City Times.