Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has said he will no longer take part in peace talks with the Turkish Cypriot President Dervis Eroglu after Turkey announced that it was reserving areas for seismic surveys south of the island and within Cyprus’ offshore blocks (EEZ), ‘Famagusta Gazette’ reports.
Anastasiades earlier briefed parliamentary party leaders on recent developments as regards Turkey’s provocations within the Republic’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The meeting came after Ankara issued a notice to mariners which binds areas within Cyprus EEZ, warning that Turkey would be initialising a seismic survey in the region.
Following that, South Cyprus directly adopted a directive which proved the illegality of the Turkish notice.
Meetings between chief negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Kudret Ozersay have also been cancelled.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide arrives in Cyprus today.
His visit was scheduled in view of the upcoming meeting between Anastasiades and Eroglu in the context of the UN-led peace talks aiming to reunify the island.
