Turkey says Lebanon-Cyprus maritime deal violates Turkish Cypriots' rights, is unacceptable

ANKARA (Reuters) -A maritime demarcation deal signed between Lebanon and Cyprus violates the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the island and is therefore unacceptable, Turkey said on Thursday.

Lebanon and Cyprus on Wednesday signed the long-awaited deal, which aims to pave the way for potential exploration of offshore gas fields and deepen energy cooperation in the Mediterranean.

Turkey, a NATO member, does not recognise the Greek Cypriot government on the ethnically-split island of Cyprus, and is the only country to recognise the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It has repeatedly complained that Greek Cypriots were disregarding and usurping Turkish Cypriot rights.

'NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO ACCEPT'

"It is not possible for us to accept any agreement in which the rights of the TRNC are disregarded," the Turkish Defence Ministry said at its weekly press briefing, using an acronym for the Turkish Cypriot government.

"We evaluate that this accord, which disregards the TRNC's rights, is also in violation of the interests of the Lebanese people, and tell our Lebanese counterparts that we are ready for cooperation on maritime issues," it added.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli said the deal was another example of Greek Cypriots disregarding the rights of Turkish Cypriots, and said the Greek Cypriot administration was not the sole representative of the island and therefore did not have the authority to take decisions concerning the whole island.

"We call on the international community, namely countries of the region, not to support these unilateral steps by the Greek Cypriot Administration and not to become instruments in attempts to usurp the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots, who are sovereign and equal elements of the island," Keceli said on X.

Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup. The last round of peace talks between the two sides collapsed in 2017, with efforts to revive them at a stalemate since.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Conor Humphries)