The Cyprus government has lodged strong demarches with the UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor Espen Barth Eide for remarks he has made in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency.
In a statement to CNA, Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides said that “in relation to some of Mr. Eide`s references in an interview with CNA and specifically that many states do not see seismic exploration as a violation of the Exclusive Economic Zone of a state, these are a violation of the UN Convention” on the Law of the Sea.
Christodoulides said the government was disappointed with other remarks made by Eide concerning his interpretations of the Cyprus problem at large and the legal status of the Republic of Cyprus. The Spokesman said he considers these comments “unfortunate and unacceptable and fully contradict international law and UN Security Council resolutions as well as the relevant UN Convention on the Law of the Sea”.
At the same time, he said, “such statements and interpretations do not help efforts to find a solution to the Cyprus problem and Eide, as the UN Secretary General`s representative, should respect international legality, the UN resolutions and UN Conventions”.
The Spokesman said the “Cyprus government has already lodged strong demarches with Mr. Eide.”
In his interview with the CNA, Eide gave his own interpretation of what the Cyprus the problem is all about and cast doubt as to whether Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone was violated by Turkey`s seismic vessel “Barbaros”.
Eide is on the island where on Tuesday he announced that UN-backed talks are expected to resume within weeks following the illegal elections in the northern Turkish-occupied area of this east Mediterranean island.
President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, suspended his participation in the peace talks last October, following a Navigational Telex or NAVTEX, issued by Turkey as Turkish seismic research vessel “Barbaros” violated the Republic’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The Turkish NAVTEX expired on Monday and Barbaros has left Cyprus` EEZ.