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CYPRUS said today that it would oppose any progress in talks over Turkey’s bid to join the European Union because of a dispute over offshore gas.
Turkey has dispatched a research ship to look for gas off Cyprus’s southern coast.
It is the only country to recognise the breakaway Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, formed after its 1974 invasion of the island.
Cypriot authorities have already licensed companies to drill in the area and say Turkey’s action violates the island’s sovereignty.
President Nicos Anastasiades said he will lodge complaints with the UN Division for Oceans and Law of the Sea, the International Maritime Organisation and possibly the United Nations security council.
The gas search has already led Cyprus to suspend UN-mediated talks on the reunification of the island. Mr Anastasiades says he would be “unworthy” of his public’s trust if he continued negotiations while under threat.
