Türkiye has voiced strong support for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) after it protested the Greek Cypriot administration’s decision to allow a Norwegian-flagged vessel to carry out activities in contested waters south of the island.
On Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said the Greek Cypriot administration, which “represents only the Greek Cypriot people,” has no authority to make unilateral decisions affecting the Turkish Cypriot community.
“The Turkish Cypriot people co-own the island,” Keceli wrote on social platform X, stressing that outside actors should encourage dialogue and cooperation instead of backing what he described as the Greek Cypriot side’s “intransigent stance.”
TRNC’s objection
Earlier Saturday, the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the presence of the Norwegian-flagged vessel Ramform Hyperion, which it said was conducting “unauthorised activities” in hydrocarbon license zones assigned by the TRNC to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO).
“We protest the activities carried out by the vessel without the approval of the TRNC and the NAVTEX messages published by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus regarding these activities,” the ministry said.
The statement demanded the immediate suspension of the vessel’s operations and its departure from the disputed continental shelf, stressing that all foreign-flagged vessels must obtain approval from the TRNC before undertaking any activity in its maritime jurisdiction.
