Cyprus protests to UN continuing Turkish violations
Cyprus has protested to the UN the continuing violations of
the national airspace and territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus by
Turkey, as well as the infringements by the latter of international air traffic
regulations, appealing for their immediate cessation, Cyprus News Agency (CNA)
reported on Saturday.
Deputy Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN Polly
Ioannou transmitted to the UN Secretary General two documents detailing the
violations of the national airspace of Cyprus, the infringements of
international air traffic regulations in the flight information region of
Cyprus and the illegal use of closed ports and airports in Cyprus, by Turkey,
during August 2018.
In a letter to the UN Secretary General, dated 14 November
2018, which circulated on Thursday as an official document of the UN General
Assembly and Security Council, Ioannou said that “this persistent policy of
violating international law and breaching international rules and regulations
is a constant threat to international peace and security, has a negative impact
on regional stability, jeopardizes the safety of international civil aviation,
creates difficulties for air traffic over Cyprus and prevents the creation of
an enabling environment in which to conduct the Cyprus peace process.”
Ioannou urged Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community to
contribute to a meaningful resumption of the peace process, instead of focusing
on undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and promoting the
partition of Cyprus through the creation of facts on the ground and the
formalization of the status quo, including by seeking to politically upgrade
the secessionist entity.
