Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Turkey regarding Turkish Navy ships operating in proximity to the territorial waters of the Republic of Cyprus.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has raised recent developments in Cyprus's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with Turkey. We support the Republic of Cyprus' sovereign right to exploit natural resources in its EEZ, and want to see exploration go ahead. We believe Cyprus' hydrocarbons should be developed for the benefit of all Cypriots, and urge all parties to look for ways by which the development of hydrocarbons can support the search for a settlement.