NICOSIA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's announced intention to jointly demarcate "marine jurisdictions" with Libya is a grave violation of international law and would not produce any legal effects, the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said Friday in a statement.

According to media reports, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey and the UN-backed government of Libya had signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday to delimit the maritime zones between them.

"This kind of delimitation, if it went through, would constitute a grave violation of International Law," the Cypriot statement said.

Cyprus has already demarcated its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in cooperation with Egypt, Israel and Lebanon.

Turkey claims that parts of Cypriot EEZ are part of its continental shelf and has sent drilling ships to explore for natural gas in areas licensed by Cyprus to foreign energy companies.

The Cypriot statement said that Turkey's memorandum of understanding with Libya "does not produce in any way any legal effects that interfere with the legal rights of the Republic of Cyprus or that of other coastal states." Enditem

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