Cyprus’ permanent mission to the United Nations has again sent a note verbale to the UN General Secretary reiterating the island republic’s standing positions in opposition to a controversial MoU between Turkey and the Tripoli-based government in Libya, which Greece, Egypt and the EU, among others, consider as illegal and baseless.

The Cypriot side again underlined that the accord is not in accordance with international law, in particular with the rules of international law relating to the conclusion of treaties, as well as with the Law of the Sea, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The letter, which refers to previous letters sent by the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus to the UN (all in 2020), emphasizes that “the MoU in question does not produce any legal effects for third parties, nor does it affect the rights of third States over maritime zones, including their sovereign rights under international law.”

The Controversial Maritime Agreement

In 2019, Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based government signed a memorandum of cooperation aimed at exploiting maritime zones and the resources within them.

Greece has strongly opposed the deal, arguing that it violates international maritime law and encroaches on Greek sovereign rights.

Athens has formally raised the issue with the United Nations, asserting that Greece “reserves all its rights under international law” and calling on both Libya and Turkey to respect its sovereignty.

In response to the Turkish-Libyan pact that year, Greece and Egypt signed an agreement aligning their search and rescue zones with the Athens and Cairo FIRs, countering the Turkish-Libyan deal with a new regional framework. They also signed a separate EEZ delimitation agreement, reinforcing their maritime cooperation and opposition to the memorandum.