Egypt denounced on Wednesday Turkey’s allegations of its rights to using the resources of the Eastern Mediterranean region despite the maritime demarcation agreement between Egypt and Cyprus.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zaid said in a statement that the maritime demarcation agreement between Egypt and Cyprus is legal and any party has no right to doubt its legality. He added that the agreement is in accordance with international law and was filed as an international agreement to the United Nations.
Abou Zaid warned against any attempt to harm or affect Egypt’s sovereign rights in the Eastern Mediterranean region, saying it will be confronted.
The statement comes two days after Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu declared that his country would not recognise any agreements regarding the economic zone of the Eastern Mediterranean, including the 2013 agreement between Egypt and Cyprus.
Cavusoglu expressed his country’s plans to invest in the zone soon. He added in statements to Greek media outlets on Monday that conducting studies and digging for oil in the zone is a sovereign right for Turkey and the Egyptian-Cypriot agreement is legally void.
Relations between Turkey and Egypt have reached one of their worst stages since the ouster of Islamist former president Mohamed Morsi. However, relations between Egypt and Cyprus have been strongly developed since 2013 and the two countries signed the maritime demarcation agreement, as well as several economic agreements.
