Media reports disclosed on Sunday afternoon that Turkey sent a letter to the United Nation’s (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres on March 28, informing him and the members of the Security Council that it intends to conduct drillings in several areas of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The letter was written by Ismet Korukoğlu, a Turkish Cypriot representative from the so-called ”Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” the name Turkey uses to describe the illegally-occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus. It is the only nation which recognizes the government there.
The message was handed to Guterres by Turkey’s representative to the United Nations.
The passing of the letter to the UN chief is actually a common practice, as the administration of the occupied part of Cyprus is not recognized as a legal entity by anyone but Turkey, and formal contact is conducted through the United Nations.
In the letter, the Turkish Cypriot administration and Turkey informed the UN about their intentions to conduct natural gas research and drillings in a series of areas which belong to the Republic of Cyprus’ EEZ. Many global energy companies already conduct drillings on behalf of Nicosia in this area.
The drillings are set to be conducted by the Turkish ΤΡΑΟ energy company.
Ankara claims that this most recent action is a response to ”unilateral actions” taken by the Republic of Cyprus.