Cyprus reports 659 Turkish air and naval violations to UN
Cyprus has notified the UN of 626 air and 33 naval violations during June and July, warning that Turkey’s actions undermine trust needed for settlement talks.
Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus has reported 659 violations involving Turkish air and naval forces during June and July in a letter addressed to the UN secretary general, according to an announcement on Monday. The letter also warned that Turkey’s actions were undermining trust needed to restart negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
Letter details air and naval activity
Maria Michail, Cyprus’ permanent representative to the UN, sent the letter on September 29. It was circulated as a UN document on October 2.
Michail listed 626 air violations and 33 naval violations. The reported activity covered breaches of Cypriot national airspace and territorial waters, failures to comply with international air traffic rules within the Nicosia flight information region (FIR), and unlawful use of airports and ports that are closed.
Among the 626 air violations, Michail said 203 involved Turkish military unmanned aerial vehicles and 192 involved armed Turkish military fighter aircraft.
Cyprus also reported military exercises carried out by Turkey without authorisation that breached the Republic’s national airspace. According to the letter, Turkey unlawfully issued one notice to airmen for those exercises.
The annexes recorded activity involving Turkish F-16 fighter aircraft, military helicopters, military drones and other aircraft. The naval incidents involved Turkish warships, including frigates, submarines, landing ships, offshore patrol vessels and missile-equipped fast attack craft.
Warning over military presence and settlement efforts
Michail said Turkish occupation forces were breaching the island’s military status quo daily, while continually strengthening their military presence and extending military infrastructure in areas of the Republic of Cyprus under Turkish occupation.
She characterised the actions as unlawful and part of a broader pattern rather than separate incidents. She said they demonstrated Turkey’s ongoing disregard for Cyprus’ sovereignty, its independence and its territorial integrity, and contravened international law and the UN Charter.
Michail further said the repeated violations and persistently aggressive behaviour of the occupying power weakened efforts to build the trust required to resume substantive negotiations for a comprehensive resolution of the Cyprus problem. She added that this conduct heightened insecurity among all Cypriots.
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