Turkey was not asked for “permission” for a French vessel to carry out surveys for the installation of a submarine cable in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“It has been established that a French-flagged vessel intends to conduct marine scientific research within our continental shelf, the outer limits of which we notified to the United Nations on 18 March 2020, carrying out bathymetric surveys for the laying of a cable without permission,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
“The unauthorised navigational warnings issued for this purpose by Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (i.e. the Republic of Cyprus) have been cancelled by our country,” the statement added.
International law
“The process of obtaining approval from our country, as required under customary rules of the international law of the sea, for the part of the activity planned by the vessel in question that falls within the limits of our continental shelf has not yet been completed,” the statement said.
“Our determination to protect our sovereign rights under international law is absolute, and we will continue to pursue an approach in the region based on cooperation, dialogue and coordination,” the Turkish statement concluded.
Commenting on the statement, Greek diplomatic sources stressed: “The work of the French research vessel VB Abeille Marengo will proceed in line with the company’s operational plan, in Greek and Cypriot territorial waters and in areas of the Greek and Cypriot continental shelf.”
“The international law of the sea is clear and admits of no other interpretations,” the same sources said.