Official Turkey reacted lividly on Thursday to this week’s news that the Republic of Cyprus signed an exclusive economic zone delimitation agreement with Lebanon, maintaining, among others, that the internationally recognized government in Nicosia does not have the right to sign bilateral agreements with other states.

Cyprus is an EU and UN member-states, although 37% of the island republic remains occupied by Turkey since 1974, while the latter has also propped up a Turkish Cypriot pseudo-state in the occupied areas since 1983.

Conversely, Turkey, a long-time UN member-state, a NATO member and a perennial EU candidate-state has not signed, let alone ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Ankara alternately applies provisions of the voluminous convention when it deems doing so aligns with its interests, and at other times flatly rejects the landmark treaty’s provisions, i.e. in the Aegean and east Mediterranean.

Among others, a Turkish foreign ministry announcement, which refers to the EU member as the “Greek Cypriot Administration”, cautions that “… call upon the international community, in particular the regional countries, not to back these unilateral actions of the Greek Cypriot Administration and not to lend support to attempts to usurp the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots, who are sovereign equals on the Island.”

Ankara also cites its own maritime delimitation agreement with one of two governments in war-ravaged Libya in 2019, which essentially erased all Greek island territory – including Crete – in order “link” the disparate coasts of Turkey with Libya. The latter agreement is considered as illegal and baseless by Greece, the EU and other regional countries.

The entire announcement by an enraged Turkish foreign ministry is here: