Cyprus’ Note Verbale to UN Responds to Libyan Communications & Turkey-Libya Memorandum

The Republic of Cyprus, through a letter submitted by its Permanent Mission to the United Nations, has reiterated its firm stance on the so-called “Memorandum of Understanding” between Turkey and Libya of 2019, stressing that it “does not comply with international law and, in particular, with the rules of international law relating to the conclusion of treaties, as well as with the Law of the Sea as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

The letter, which also recalls earlier letters from Cyprus to the UN (dated 20 January, 24 April, and 20 July 2020), underlines that “the said Memorandum does not produce any legal consequences for third parties, nor does it affect the rights of third states over maritime zones, including their sovereign rights under international law.”

Nicosia points out that the Memorandum “purports to delimit maritime zones between two states which do not possess opposite or adjacent coasts, thereby fabricating a non-existent maritime boundary between them, while deliberately ignoring the presence and maritime entitlements of coastal states in the region, including Greek islands such as Crete and the Dodecanese.”

Special reference is made to Article 121 of UNCLOS, which, the letter stresses, “reflects customary international law and, as such, is also binding on states that are not parties to the Convention.” The article, it notes, “explicitly provides for the entitlement of islands to a territorial sea, a contiguous zone, a continental shelf, and an Exclusive Economic Zone.”

The document further points out that “the closing line across the Gulf of Sirte, and the relevant drawing of the straight baseline, do not comply with the rules of customary international law as reflected in UNCLOS, and, therefore, do not produce any legal consequences.”

Cyprus highlights the importance of full respect for international law and recalls that “maritime delimitation agreements must be concluded between states with opposite or adjacent coasts, in good faith and in accordance with the well-established principles of international law, as codified in UNCLOS and guided by international jurisprudence.”

At the same time, the Republic of Cyprus notes “Libya’s stated readiness to engage in negotiations with all neighbouring states for the delimitation of maritime boundaries in accordance with international law.”

Concluding, the Permanent Mission of Cyprus requests that “the present letter be circulated as a document of the General Assembly under agenda item 75, and of the Security Council, as well as published on the website of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea and included in a forthcoming edition of the Law of the Sea Bulletin.”