Cyprus reports illegal Turkey-TRNC natural gas pipeline memorandum to EU

Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos informed his European counterparts at the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on October 12, 2026, about an illegal memorandum of understanding signed between Turkey and the illegal separatist entity in the occupied territories of Cyprus. The agreement, which was signed on July 10, 2026, aims to construct an undersea natural gas pipeline. Minister Kombos characterized this move as a blatant violation of international law and the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Minister highlighted that this action is part of a broader pattern of Turkish revisionist behavior in the Eastern Mediterranean. He reported that between July and August 2026, 659 violations of the Cypriot airspace and Exclusive Economic Zone were recorded and reported to the United Nations. Kombos also noted that Turkey's alignment with the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy remains critically low at approximately 4 percent.

Following the briefing at the Foreign Affairs Council, President Nikos Christodoulides is expected to raise the issue of Turkish provocations, including the issuance of a NAVTEX within Cypriot territorial waters on September 30, at the upcoming European Council meeting scheduled for October 15-16, 2026, in Brussels.