Cyprus's Permanent Representative to the United Nations has told the UN Secretary General that Turkey must fully comply with its obligations under international law, respect the sovereignty, rights and jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus, refrain from implementing what she called the illegal memorandum of understanding on building an undersea gas pipeline linking Turkey to the occupied areas of the Republic, and immediately halt all related activities. Maria Michael set out the position in a letter dated 7 August 2026 addressed to Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
A "provocative" memorandum
According to Ambassador Michael, the signing of the so called memorandum of understanding amounts to yet another deliberate and provocative act by Turkey, one that breaches international law, including the relevant Security Council resolutions on Cyprus.
She adds that preparatory work on the memorandum appears to have already begun, noting that Turkey issued a maritime notice on 21 July 2026 for the research vessels Oruç Reis, Denar Explorer, Denar Pathfinder and Denar Surveyor, in connection with preliminary survey activities linked to the proposed project. While these initial activities are reported to be taking place within Turkish territorial waters, she says they clearly demonstrate Turkey's intent to move ahead with implementing the memorandum.
A legally void agreement
Michael argues that the memorandum is void and therefore has no legal effect. She writes that the illegal secessionist entity established in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus lacks international legal personality and has no authority under international law to conclude international agreements or approve projects affecting the territory, territorial waters, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf of the Republic. She points to Security Council resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984), which explicitly declared the entity legally invalid and called on all states not to recognise it or facilitate it in any way.
She goes on to say that Turkey's alleged implementation of the undersea gas pipeline, along with any related offshore and onshore infrastructure, is taking place without the authorisation or consent of the Cypriot government, in complete violation of its sovereignty, rights and jurisdiction. She adds that building an undersea pipeline through occupied Cypriot territory, which also passes through the Republic's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, constitutes a violation of Cyprus's sovereignty and an infringement of its rights and jurisdiction under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, whose relevant provisions, she notes, reflect customary international law.
She further clarifies that the alleged implementation of the project breaches the Republic's sovereignty over its territory and territorial waters, since it is being carried out without its approval, and violates its rights and jurisdiction as a coastal state to regulate activities affecting natural resources and the marine environment within its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
A sensitive moment for talks
Michael described Turkey's latest move as coming at a particularly sensitive moment, with efforts continuing to restart negotiations aimed at a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. Rather than helping create conditions favourable to that process, she said such unilateral actions undermine trust between the two communities and seek to prejudge the island's future through irreversible developments.
She said Turkey is seeking to build yet another strategic connecting infrastructure that would permanently link the occupied part of Cyprus to the Turkish mainland, describing this as part of Turkey's long standing policy of creating facts on the ground aimed at further entrenching its political, economic and strategic control over the occupied part of the Republic and reinforcing the consequences of its continuing military occupation. She said the development cannot be viewed in isolation, coming as it does after the illegal construction and operation of an undersea water pipeline between Turkey and the occupied areas of the Republic, and forms part of a broader, systematic policy aimed at integrating the occupied territory into Turkey's political and economic structures, deepening the occupied areas' dependence on Turkey and further entrenching the island's illegal division.
More than an energy project
She added that the proposed undersea gas pipeline should not be seen merely as an energy infrastructure project between Turkey and the illegal secessionist entity in the occupied areas. She said the two way infrastructure is ultimately intended, from Turkey's side, to facilitate the future transport of gas resources extracted from maritime areas over which the Republic of Cyprus exercises sovereignty and sovereign rights, raising further legal and political concerns about Turkey's intentions and plans. She said this development should be viewed alongside Turkey's illegal drilling and seismic activities carried out in the Republic's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone and continental shelf during 2019 to 2020, in violation of the Republic's sovereignty and sovereign rights under international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Cyprus's appeal to the Secretary General
In this context, Michael said her government respectfully asked for the Secretary General's help in conveying a clear message to Turkey that it must comply fully with its obligations under international law, respect the sovereignty, rights and jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus, refrain from implementing the illegal memorandum of understanding on the undersea gas pipeline linking Turkey to the occupied areas of the Republic, and immediately halt all related activities.
She concluded that such unilateral actions, particularly when accompanied by provocative statements and attempts to create new facts on the ground, do not contribute to peace, stability or reconciliation. Instead, she said, they undermine trust between the two communities, complicate the efforts of the Secretary General and his Good Offices Mission, damage prospects for restarting meaningful negotiations, and further entrench the island's division.
Source: CNA
