Statement by the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the signing of an agreement between the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus and Lebanon on the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone

The Government of Lebanon had announced that at its Cabinet meeting dated 23 October 2025, the agreement on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas reached in 2007 with the Greek Cypriot (GCA) administration of Southern Cyprus, was approved after approximately 18 years of suspension.

This time, it has been announced that at a ceremony held on 26 November during the Beirut visit of GCA leader Nikos Christodoulides, the agreement, also reached back in 2007, on the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was signed between the two parties.

The said agreement constitutes yet another element of the unilateral initiatives undertaken by the Greek Cypriot side since 2003 with the aim of usurping the equal rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people on both the Island and the Eastern Mediterranean. Signed in total disregard of the Turkish Cypriot People, who have sovereign equal rights on the Island of Cyprus, this agreement, just as the previous ones, is entirely null and void.

Despite all the warnings of the Turkish Cypriot side and the realities in the region, the Greek Cypriot administration, operating under the illusion encouraged by the international community that it represents the entire island, continues to take actions contrary to international law. These political faits accomplis not only violate the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people but also pose a fundamentally destructive threat to the already fragile balance in the Eastern Mediterranean.

As the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has repeatedly emphasized in the past, our firm stance in safeguarding the sovereign equal rights of the Turkish Cypriot side over the island and its natural resources shall continue. It is clear that a regional order prioritising on fairness, mutual respect, and cooperation can only be achieved through agreements concluded with the mutual consent and on the basis of the equal status of the two parties.

Within this context, all unilateral arrangements the GCA has made or continues to make on maritime jurisdiction areas with third parties, including Lebanon, are null and void  for the TRNC just like similar other arrangements made in the past. The TRNC has the required will to take the necessary steps on its own maritime jurisdiction areas as well as on all matters concerning the equal rights of the Turkish Cypriot people on the whole island, and will not refrain from adopting the necessary political, diplomatic, and technical measures against any actions that threaten its equal rights over the natural resources.

We call upon the international community not to support the unilateral measures of the Greek Cypriot side that escalate tensions in the region and, we urge the relevant states to take into account the sensitivities of the Cyprus issue and refrain from becoming party to any arrangements made without the consent of both parties.

While the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus shall continue to safeguard its rights and interests with the support of its Motherland, Republic of Türkiye, it will also continue to act with the belief that cooperation and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean can only be achieved through respect for established rights and dialogue.