Cyprus complains to UN’s Guterres over Turkish gas pipeline plans

The Republic of Cyprus’ permanent representative to the United Nations Maria Michael has penned a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres protesting the agreement reached between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot authorities for the construction of a natural gas pipeline to connect the island and Turkey. “The signing of the purported ‘memorandum of understanding’ constitutes yet another deliberate and provocative action by Turkey, in violation of international law, including the relevant resolutions of the security council on Cyprus,” she wrote. She added that “preparatory activities” for the pipeline’s construction “appear to have already commenced”, with Turkey having last month issued a navtex, a message used to transmit information to seaborne vessels, informing nearby ships that it intends to commence seismic surveys for the pipeline’s construction. “Although these initial activities are reportedly taking place within Turkish territorial waters, they clearly demonstrate Turkey’s intention to proceed with the implementation of the illegal memorandum,” she wrote. Related Articles • Turkey to commence seismic surveys for gas pipeline to Cyprus • EU’s Kallas tells Turkey to ‘respect’ Cyprus’ sovereignty over gas pipeline • Kombos to raise Turkish natural gas pipeline agreement at EU meeting • Turkey, Turkish Cypriots sign deal for natural gas pipeline • Gas pipeline from Turkey to north ‘to be operational in 2028’ • Turkey plans to construct natural gas pipeline to Cyprus To this end, she described the gas pipeline agreement as “null and void, and, thus, devoid of any legal effect”, writing that “the illegal secessionist entity established in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus lacks international legal personality”. As such, she added, the Turkish Cypriot authorities have “no competence under international law to conclude international agreements or authorise projects affecting the territory, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus”. “Turkey’s purported implementation of the subsea natural gas pipeline, together with any related offshore and onshore infrastructure works, is being undertaken without the authorisation and consent of the government of the Republic of Cyprus, in complete disregard of its sovereignty, rights, and jurisdiction,” she wrote. She added that the pipeline’s construction therefore “constitutes a violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and an infringement of its rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zone [and] continental shelf under the United Nations convention on the law of the sea [Unclos]”. Turkey is not a signatory to Unclos, but Michael insisted on this point that its provisions “reflect customary international law”. Maria Michael [left] with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres She went on to write that “Turkey’s latest provocation comes at a particularly sensitive juncture, as efforts continue towards the resumption of negotiations for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem”. “Rather than contributing to the creation of conditions conducive to the success of this process, such unilateral actions undermine confidence between the two communities and seek to prejudge the future of the island through irreversible developments,” she wrote. She added that Turkey “seeks to create another strategic infrastructure connection, permanently linking the occupied part of Cyprus with the Turkish mainland”. “It forms part of Turkey’s longstanding policy of creating faits accomplis, with the aim of further consolidating its political, economic, and strategic control over the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus and reinforcing the consequences of its continuing military occupation,” she wrote. Therefore, she wrote, the pipeline project “cannot be viewed in isolation”, as it “follows the unlawful construction and operation of a subsea water pipeline between Turkey and the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus and forms part of a broader and systematic policy aimed at integrating the occupied territory into Turkey’s political and economic structures”. She added that this reinforces “the dependence of the occupied areas upon Turkey and further [entrenches] the illegal division of the island”. Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel at the natural gas pipeline’s signing ceremony “Furthermore, the proposed subsea natural gas pipeline should not be viewed merely as an energy infrastructure project between Turkey and the illegal secessionist entity in the occupied areas,” she wrote, before pointing out the project would in fact consist of two parallel pipelines which will allow the system to be “bidirectional”. “The bidirectional infrastructure is aimed by Turkey at facilitating the future transportation of natural gas resources extracted from the maritime areas over which the Republic of Cyprus exercises sovereignty and sovereign rights, thereby giving rise to additional legal and political concerns regarding Turkey’s intentions and plans,” she wrote. She added that as far as the Republic of Cyprus’ government is concerned, “this development is viewed in the context of Turkey’s illegal drilling and seismic activities carried out in the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus” between 2019 and 2020. “Against this background, my government respectfully requests your assistance in conveying a clear message to Turkey that it must fully comply with its obligations under international law,” she wrote. She added that Turkey must also “respect the sovereignty, rights, and jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus” and “refrain from implementing” the pipeline project. “Such unilateral actions, particularly when accompanied by provocative statements and attempts to create new faits accomplis, do not contribute to peace, stability, or reconciliation,” she wrote. She stressed that “on the contrary, they undermine confidence between the two communities, complicate the efforts of the secretary-general and his good offices mission, prejudice the prospects for the resumption of meaningful negotiations, and further entrench the division of the island”. Cevdet Yilmaz at the signing ceremony A memorandum of understanding for the pipeline’s construction was signed by the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot authorities on July 10, with Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz having said that “this step taken in the energy sector will be a historic turning point in cooperation between the two countries”. Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel had said that “the project is not for today, but for future generations”, and that “it is a demonstration of our will to leave a stronger, more sustainable and more competitive country for our children”. On the political front, he said that the signing of the agreement “sent a strong message to the eastern Mediterranean”, “The Turkish Cypriot people are present in this region, have deep roots and are building their future with their sovereign will. With the strong support of their motherland, Turkey, they will continue on their path. We know that where Turkey is, there is security, and where Turkey is, there is strength,” he said. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar had explained the technical aspects of the pipeline, saying that it will stretch from the town of Anamur, in Turkey’s Mersin province, to the Teknecik power station, located just outside Kyrenia. Anamur is located between the cities of Mersin and Alanya, with work currently underway to connect those two cities with a natural gas pipeline. Anamur Bayraktar also said that the project would in fact consist of two parallel pipelines, each 56cm in diameter, thus allowing the system to be “bidirectional”, meaning that natural gas will be able to be transported to Cyprus from Turkey, and to Turkey from Cyprus. The pipelines will stretch a total of 101 kilometres, of which 97km will be under the Levantine Sea. However, it has faced criticism both from Greek Cypriots and from the European Union, with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas having last week called on Turkey to “respect” the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereignty. “On the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus raised Turkey’s plan for a gas pipeline with the island. The EU expects Ankara to respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all member states,” she said after a meeting of the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers in July.