The letter from Turkey to the UN was commented on by diplomatic sources stating that: “The February 16, 2026 letter from Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations to the Secretary-General of the Organization, following related Verbal Communications from Greece, Cyprus and Egypt, was largely expected and does not come as a surprise”.
Diplomatic sources on Turkish UN letter: Repeating legally unfounded claims does not produce legal effects
According to the same sources, “The letter in question, which is rejected by Greece and will be duly responded to, reproduces the well-known but imaginative and arbitrary interpretations of International Law, particularly the Law of the Sea, which Turkey often indulges in, challenging once again our country’s legitimate rights, while persisting in not recognizing the Republic of Cyprus, an EU and UN member state”.
As diplomatic sources note, “The repetition of legally unfounded claims does not give them value and does not produce legal effects. As is well known, these claims have already been repeatedly answered with our letters to the United Nations, in which we remind, among other things, that according to the Law of the Sea, in the delimitation of continental shelf and EEZ, between states with adjacent or opposite coasts, islands have full rights to maritime zones, just like mainland territories”.
They emphasize that “Turkey should therefore comply with the requirements of the Law of the Sea, for the benefit of good neighborly relations between our two countries, as well as stability and cooperation in the region”. It is noted that the Turkish letter refers to the Turkish-Libyan memorandum, points out that Turkey has already submitted to the United Nations the limits of various segments of its maritime areas and the outer limits of the Turkish continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean, and states that the unilaterally characterized domestic legislation and practices of other countries are not binding on Turkey.
Source: ANA-MPA
