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Anastasia Balezdrova

The situation in Cyprus is continuing to be tense for the second day in a row. According to the Cypriot media, Turkish seismic vessel "Barbaros" has passed from the third plot of the exclusive economic zone of the island to the second, which is located between the ports of Limassol and Larnaca.

The Cypriot edition of "Kathimerini" newspaper presented a video showing the course of the Turkish vessel. Unnamed sources of the media claim that the way it is moving indicates that it is carrying out seismic surveys of the seabed.

At today's meeting, the members of the National Council of Cyprus decided to take a series of measures against Turkey, including the submission of a complaint to the European Council at its forthcoming meeting. According to the decision, Cyprus will definitely oppose the likelihood of triggering the procedures for Turkey’s membership in the European Union, taking advantage of its membership in various international organizations to require taking measures against Turkey. At the same time, the chief prosecutor of Cyprus and international law firms are going to draw up plans to take legal actions. It is not excluded that Cyprus will seek intervention on the part of the United Nations Security Council.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulidis said that the meeting of the National Council, which includes representatives of all Cypriot parties, took place in a spirit of unity. He added that Cyprus will benefit from all its advantages to trigger measures that will cost Turkish the loss of political and diplomatic capital.

Photo: sigmalive.com

It became clear on Monday that tensions are rising as military training of the Russian navy is taking place in the region. It will end on 24 October and Israel too will carry out training afterwards. GRReporter turned for comment to researcher from the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy ELIAMEP George Tzogopoulos who described Turkey’s actions as a "clear violation of international law" and added the following:

"The specific policy of Ankara is part of its attempts to implement an aggressive policy on the exclusive economic zone, and it will possibly concentrate on specific plots in Cyprus at a later stage. In any case, it is no coincidence that the regional role of Turkey in its efforts related to the destruction of the Islamic State is very important for the time being. Russia is not the only country that is carrying out training in the region, Israel is doing the same, which shows the importance that Moscow and Tel Aviv attribute to Cyprus. The situation is heating up in this way and as a result of the Turkish provocation, and the risk of destabilization is real."

Tensions about Cyprus are rising at a time when the efforts to resume the negotiations to solve the Cyprus issue are becoming more intense. The researcher emphasized that the probability of the conflict being resolved is minimal, giving grounds for his opinion by stating the following:

"There has been a tendency to trigger the negotiations since last year, but the serious problems have not been solved in essence. We should not forget that the first place that Tagip Recep Erdogan visited as President of Turkey was the occupied northern part of the island. Even this choice of his alone is quite indicative of how Turkey would demonstrate a spirit of consensus in the future. I do not think that there are grounds for excessive optimism."

According to various commentators, with their resounding "no" to the referendum of United Nations Secretary General at the time Kofi Annan on the adoption of a plan for the unification of the island, Cypriots had squandered a unique opportunity to put an end to the division following the invasion and occupation of its northern part in 1974. George Tzogopoulos agrees that the current situation is even more complicated and makes it difficult to find a solution, not claiming that the Annan Plan was the only possible outcome.

"The citizens of Cyprus made ​​their choice in 2004. Probably the present conditions are worse. Nevertheless, this does not mean that they had to adopt the Annan Plan 10 years ago. Many of the things it provided for drove the citizens of Cyprus to vote against it. This decision cannot be changed. The important thing today is to find the way in which the national interest of Cyprus will be protected in the best way. "