Egypt’s foreign ministry warned Turkey in a statement on Wednesday against any attempt to derogate or undermine Egypt’s sovereign rights in the East Mediterranean region, after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey intends to explore the East Mediterranean for oil and gas. The Egyptian foreign ministry’s official spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement that no party can dispute the legality of the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders between Egypt and Cyprus. He added that the agreement is consistent with the rules of international law and has been recognized as an international convention in the United Nations. Abu Zeid said that any attempt to undermine Egypt’s sovereign rights in the East Mediterranean region is rejected and will be addressed. On Tuesday, in an interview with Greek newspaper Kathimerini, Cavusoglu considered the 2013 Egyptian-Cypriot agreement on utilization of natural sources in East Mediterranean’s economic zone to be invalid.

Source: Egypt Independent February 07, 2018 09:22 UTC