Nicosia, Cyprus. The Cypriot government has sent a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reporting more than 500 alleged violations of the island’s airspace between the beginning of March and the end of last month. The letter also cited alleged violations of territorial waters and international air traffic regulations in the Nicosia flight information region.
Letter to the United Nations
Cyprus’ permanent representative to the United Nations, Maria Michael, wrote that she wished to draw Guterres’ attention to what she described as recent violations of Cyprus’ national airspace, international air traffic regulations in the Nicosia flight information region, Cyprus’ territorial waters, and the illegal use of closed ports and airports in Cyprus.
She said the alleged violations were carried out by the air and naval forces of Turkey.
Reported violations
According to the letter, a total of 520 aerial violations and 23 naval violations were recorded during the three-month period.
Of the 520 reported airspace violations, Michael said 103 were carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles and 196 by Turkish armed military fighter aircraft.
She also said that Turkish forces continue to violate the military status quo on the island on an almost daily basis and are further strengthening military infrastructure in the occupied areas.
Cyprus’ position
Michael said the reported actions demonstrate what Cyprus views as Turkey’s ongoing violation of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of the Republic of Cyprus and that they are contrary to the United Nations Charter and international law.
She added that the actions highlight what she described as persistent aggressive behaviour by the occupying power, undermine the sense of security of Cypriots, and impede efforts to create conditions favourable to the resumption of negotiations for a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem.
Aircraft and vessels listed
The letter concluded with a detailed record of the alleged violations, stating that Turkish unmanned aerial combat vehicles of the types Bayraktar TB2, Bayraktar Akinci TAI Anka, and TAI Aksungur, as well as AS-532 military helicopters and F-16 fighter jets, were present in Cypriot airspace during the period.
At sea, the letter listed the Kilic class corvette TCG Tufan, the TCG Atak, and the TCG Zipkin, the Tuzla class patrol boats TCG Karatas and TCG Kdz. Eregli, the amphibious warfare ship TCG Osmangazi, the landing ship TCG Bayraktar, and the submarine TCG Inonu as having been in Cypriot waters.
The Kilic class corvette TCG Imbat and the naval submarine TCG Gur, both of which visited Cyprus in April, were not mentioned in the letter.