Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus has reported a series of violations of its national airspace, international air traffic regulations within the Nicosia Flight Information Region (FIR), and its territorial waters by Turkish air and naval forces during January and February 2026.
Letter to the UN secretary-general
In a letter addressed to the UN secretary-general, Cyprus’ permanent representative to the UN said the incidents were “further manifestations of Turkey’s ongoing unlawful actions against the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of the Republic of Cyprus”.
Recorded air and naval violations
According to four annexes accompanying the letter, a total of “305 air and 33 naval violations” were recorded during the reporting period.
Of the air violations, “81 out of the 305 air violations were conducted by Turkish unmanned aerial military vehicles (UAVs)”, while “44” were conducted by Turkish armed military fighter aircraft.
Aircraft and exercises cited
The letter said Turkey carried out “unauthorised military exercises in violation of the Republic of Cyprus’ national airspace, for which it illegally issued four Notams”.
The annexes list aircraft involved as Bayraktar TB-2, Anka, Akinci and Aksungur UAVs; F-16 and RF-4 fighter aircraft; ATR-72, CN-235 and A-400 military aircraft; and AS-532 and EC-135 helicopters, which Cyprus said entered the Nicosia FIR and the national airspace of the Republic of Cyprus “without diplomatic permit or contacting Nicosia ACC”.
Maritime incidents and port allegations
At sea, Cyprus recorded repeated violations of its territorial waters by Turkish naval and auxiliary vessels, including the Karatas, Kiliç, Yildiz, Giresun, Tufan, Kalkan and KDZ Eregli.
According to the annexes, these vessels “violated the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus” and illegally used the closed ports of Famagusta and Kyrenia while participating in operations in the north.
Broader security and переговоры concerns
Cyprus linked the incidents to “almost daily breaches by the Turkish occupation forces of the military status quo on the island” and to the strengthening of military infrastructure in occupied areas, saying such actions “demonstrate, once more, Turkey’s total disregard for the Charter of the United Nations and international law”.
The letter said these actions “severely undermine the sense of security of all Cypriots, while also hindering efforts aimed at creating conditions conducive to the resumption of negotiations for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem”.
How do you think these reported incidents could affect efforts to resume negotiations on the Cyprus problem?
