Cyprus News Agency
Wednesday
Armenia deep concerned over Turkey's actions northeast of Cyprus
Armenia expresses its deep concern over Turkey`s attempt to conduct new drillings northeast of Cyprus and reiterates its full support to the Republic of Cyprus.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia wrote on its twitter account that "we express our deep concern over #Turkey's attempt to conduct new drilling operation in northeast of #Cyprus".
It adds that "Turkey's continued provocative actions in Eastern Mediterranean put security and stability of region @ risk.We reiterate our full support and solidarity w/ Republic of Cyprus".
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The last round of negotiations, in the summer of 2017, at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Turkey issued in May a navigational telex, announcing its intention to start drilling off Cyprus until September 3. Since May 4, the Turkish drill ship 'Fatih' is anchored in an area that falls within the EEZ and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus.
A second Turkish drill ship, 'Yavuz', arrived off the island's northeastern coast on Monday. The EU High Representative Federica Mogherini issued subsequently a statement, warning Turkey over its intended new drilling operation at the northeast of Cyprus. She recalled that Turkey`s continued actions have a serious negative impact across the range of EU-Turkey relations and that "as mandated by the European Council, the Commission and the EEAS are about to present options to the Council for appropriate measures."
