The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Wednesday condemned the Greek Cypriot side issuing a NAVTEX – an international navigational warning to ships – to carry out activities related to drilling preparations in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In a statement, the TRNC's Foreign Ministry said they are closely following the unilateral activities of the Greek Cypriot administration in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The NAVTEX was issued for parcel No.12 of the zone, which it declared unilaterally, the statement said.
"The zone coincides with the area licensed by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation to carry out oil and natural gas exploration activities by the Council of Ministers on behalf of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," it said.
It said that despite all warnings, the Greek Cypriot side has insisted on its unilateral activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and did not refrain from raising tensions, adding that the uncompromising mentality of the Greek Cypriots should now be obvious to the international community.
It reiterated that the TRNC's comprehensive cooperation proposal to the Greek Cypriot administration on hydrocarbon resources in the region and the proposal of Türkiye, a guarantor country for the island of Cyprus, to organize a comprehensive conference on hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean with the participation of all relevant parties is still on the table.
It underlined that as long as the insistent and unilateral activities of the Greek Cypriot administration continue, the TRNC, along with Türkiye, will take the necessary measures and steps to protect its legitimate rights and interests.
The island has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N. Annan Plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Today, Turkish Cyprus supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.