| United Nations |
A/60/434–S/2005/654 |
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General Assembly
Security Council |
Distr.: General
17 October 2005 Original: English |
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General Assembly Security Council
Sixtieth session Sixtieth year
Agenda item 19
Question of Cyprus
Letter dated 14 October 2005 from the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
Upon instructions from my Government, I have the honour to draw your attention to new serious violations of the status quo in Cyprus by the Turkish military forces. These new provocations involve recent violations of the national airspace of the Republic of Cyprus and the flight information region of Nicosia , south of the ceasefire line, and flights of Turkish military aircraft over sensitive military areas of the Republic.
More specifically, on 13 and 14 October 2005, two formations of Turkish military aircrafts (four and six, respectively) violated the national airspace of the Republic of Cyprus and the flight information region of Nicosia, flying perimetrically along the southern coasts of Cyprus, in complete defiance of all international air traffic regulations and in full disrespect of all appeals of the international community to avoid escalation of tension in Cyprus at this particularly crucial juncture.
While violations of the flight information region of Nicosia and the national airspace of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkish military aircraft have regrettably come to be a regular occurrence, the aforementioned violations in the southern part of the country surpass in gravity all previous provocations. Such actions not only significantly jeopardize flight safety but also generate unprecedented strong feelings of insecurity, anxiety and apprehension among civilians.
In the wake of the recent opening of the accession negotiations between Turkey and the European Union, both the Government and the people of Cyprus sincerely believed that Turkey would demonstrate a genuine will to undertake steps towards the reunification of the island and refrain from further undermining peace and stability in the region. It is therefore with great dismay that we realize that Turkey , far from changing its policy of aggression and division, opts to create an atmosphere of intimidation and tension among the people of Cyprus .
In this context, I strongly appeal to you to exert your influence over the Turkish Government with respect to its refraining from actions that aggravate an already tense situation and also undermine your efforts regarding the reaching of a mutually accepted settlement to the Cyprus issue.
I should be grateful if you would have the present letter circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 19, and of the Security Council.
( Signed ) Andreas D. Mavroyiannis