Cyprus: Letter to the UN on Turkey-Libya Memorandum

The Republic of Cyprus, through its Permanent Mission to the UN, has issued a letter to the Secretary-General of the Organization, reiterating its firm positions on the Turkey-Libya memorandum of 2019.

The letter emphasizes that this memorandum "is not in accordance with international law" and "does not produce any legal effects for third parties." Nicosia stresses that Libya, with this memorandum, refers to a supposed delimitation of maritime zones between states without opposite coasts, ignoring the maritime rights of coastal states such as Crete and the Dodecanese.

Furthermore, the letter refers to Article 121 of UNCLOS, which secures the right of islands to maritime zones. The Republic of Cyprus emphasizes the importance of respecting international law and the need for delimitation agreements to be concluded in accordance with the principles of UNCLOS.

The Permanent Mission of Cyprus requests the publication of the letter as a document of the General Assembly and the Security Council of the UN.