North Cyprus to resume ferry service to Syria

Rebel state of North Cyprus will expand its shipping links with Syria and a controversial ferry service will resume shortly.
“The Enlargement Commissioner has ruled that these links are purely bilateral and have nothing to do with the EU,” Dr Turgay Avci, deputy prime minister of the unrecognised ‘Turkish Republic of North Cyprus’ told reporters during a visit to London. “Moreover the UN has also taken no decision regarding the status of the northern ports, so they are legal.”
Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has declared that “according to international law, the entry and exit of boats from ports in the northern part of Cyprus is not prohibited.” The Republic of Cyprus, an EU member, has hitherto imposed a blockade on ports in the Turkish zone, fining any ships visiting the republic that have also called at northern ports.
Avci said that a ferry service between Famagusta and the Syrian port of Latakia would resume shortly once formalities registering the two ferries under the Turkish flag have been completed. Last month, the Greek Cypriots put pressure on Georgia to remove the two vessels from its register