New pressure for Turkey to open its ports to ships from Cyprus was exerted at the Maritime Cyprus 2007 Conference held in Limassol on 23-26 September. Those attending included the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Transport, Jacques Barrot, who pledged to do his utmost to end the Turkish embargo (which also applies to aircraft from Cyprus).

New pressure for Turkey to open its ports to ships from Cyprus was exerted at the Maritime Cyprus 2007 Conference held in Limassol on 23-26 September. Those attending included the Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Transport, Jacques Barrot, who pledged to do his utmost to end the Turkish embargo (which also applies to aircraft from Cyprus).

The 11th Maritime Cyprus Conference was attended by some 800 delegates from countries around the world and by representatives of several international organizations. The Secretary General of the Cyprus Shipping Council, Thomas Kazakos, said that the biannual gathering in Cyprus was one of the world’s three most important shipping conferences, together with those of Japan and Norway. Cyprus has the world’s ninth largest merchant fl eet, with over 1,200 ships, and the EU’s third largest, after Greece and Malta.

Speaking on 24 September, M. Barrot described the Turkish embargo as a problem not only for Cyprus but also for the EU and for Turkey itself, adding: “Please be assured that I will put all my efforts into solving this issue.” Turkey has maintained an embargo on ships and airplanes from Cyprus since 1987, despite undertaking to lift it when it secured the opening of formal EU accession negotiations in October 2005.

Cyprus Communications and Works Minister Maria Malachtou-Pamballi described M. Barrot’s pledge as “very important”, stressing that Turkey was obliged under international law to open its ports to Cypriot vessels. Her Permanent Secretary, Makis Constantinides, had earlier warned that unless the embargo was lifted Cyprus and other EU member states would not allow negotiations to begin on the transport policy chapter of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations.

The Cyprus Government asked Syria on 24 September why a cruise liner from Turkish-occupied Famagusta had been allowed to dock at the Syrian port of Latakia. In discussions with Cyprus Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou Markoulli in New York on 26 September, her Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Muallem, promised to look into the matter personally and to respond within a few days. He stressed that Syria had no maritime transport agreement with the “TRNC”, since it did not recognize it.