Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ünal Üstel criticized the Greek Cypriot administration later on Sunday for taking a natural gas pipeline agreement between Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to the United Nations, saying it has no authority to determine how the Turkish Cypriot side cooperates with Ankara.
Üstel said the Greek Cypriot move was another indication of what he described as its intolerance toward the development and future of the Turkish Cypriot people.
The Greek Cypriot administration has for years signed unilateral agreements on energy and other issues affecting the island while disregarding the will of Turkish Cypriots, Üstel said, calling its objection to an agreement between Türkiye and the TRNC a “major contradiction.”
He noted that the Greek Cypriot side had concluded energy agreements, issued licenses and taken decisions in the Eastern Mediterranean that directly concern the rights of Turkish Cypriots without seeking their approval.
Üstel rejected the argument that the TRNC should seek Greek Cypriot consent for a natural gas project aimed at strengthening its energy security and future supplies.
“We cannot accept such an approach,” he said. “The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has the will to make decisions concerning its own future, development and energy security. The Greek Cypriot administration cannot decide in which areas we will cooperate with our motherland Türkiye.”
Üstel also pointed to a letter submitted by the Greek Cypriot administration to the United Nations, which said the proposed pipeline would create a permanent and strategic link between Türkiye and Northern Cyprus.
“That is what actually bothers them,” Üstel said, arguing that the Greek Cypriot side was uncomfortable with stronger ties between Türkiye and the TRNC and increased Turkish Cypriot energy security.
He emphasized that the Turkish Cypriot side would continue working with Türkiye to protect its rights, strengthen the TRNC and pursue energy projects despite Greek Cypriot objections.
The Greek Cypriot administration has taken a planned bidirectional natural gas pipeline between Türkiye and the TRNC to the United Nations, asking that the project be declared “illegal” and halted, according to the Greek Cypriot media.
According to reports, Maria Michael, the Greek Cypriot administration’s permanent representative to the U.N., sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres objecting to a memorandum signed on July 10, 2026, for the construction of a bidirectional subsea natural gas pipeline between Türkiye and the TRNC.
In the letter, Michael referred to the TRNC as an “unrecognized secessionist entity” and described the planned project between Türkiye and the TRNC as “illegal” and “invalid.”
The planned pipeline would stretch 101 kilometers (63 miles), including 97 kilometers (60 miles) offshore and 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) onshore, connecting Anamur on Türkiye's Mediterranean coast with Teknecik in the TRNC. The project envisages two 22-inch pipelines designed to operate in both directions, allowing natural gas to flow from Türkiye to the TRNC while also enabling any future gas production from the island to be transported to Türkiye and potentially onward to Europe.
