Eastern Mediterranean statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 'The French ship was not allowed to conduct research activities'

In the statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was said: "It appears that a French-flagged ship intends to carry out an illegal marine scientific research activity aimed at laying unauthorized cables within our continental shelf, the outer limits of which we notified to the United Nations on March 18, 2020. The unauthorized navigation warning announcements issued by Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration for this purpose have been canceled by our country."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement about the attempt of a French-flagged ship to conduct unauthorized marine scientific research activities on the Turkish continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the statement, "It appears that a French-flagged ship intends to carry out an illegal marine scientific research activity aimed at laying unauthorized cables within our continental shelf, the outer limits of which we notified to the United Nations on March 18, 2020. The unauthorized navigation warning notices issued by Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus for this purpose have been canceled by our country. For the part of the activity that the ship in question plans to carry out within the borders of our continental shelf, the consent required to be obtained from our country in accordance with the established provisions of international maritime law." "The relevant process has not yet been completed. We are fully determined to protect our sovereign rights arising from international law, and we will continue to adopt an approach based on cooperation, dialogue and coordination in the region."