The Secretary-General of the United Nations, acting in his capacity as depositary, on 5 October 2022 communicated the following objection by Cyprus against Turkiye:
“The Republic of Cyprus has examined the Declaration deposited by the Republic of Turkey on 10 November 2021, upon ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer of 15 October 2016, and notes that such a declaration is not in conformity with the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
By means of the submitted Declaration, Turkey purports to release itself of the obligation to cooperate with other States Parties within the framework of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol. ln the view of the Republic of Cyprus, this Declaration attempts to exclude or modify the legal effects of the said treaties, including in effect certain provisions thereof, in their application to Turkey, concerning cooperation between States Parties, which is one of the essential elements of and is explicitly envisaged in the aforementioned instruments.
ln light of the above, it is the position of the Republic of Cyprus that the Declaration submitted by the Republic of Turkey is an interpretative declaration tantamount to a reservation, contrary to both Article 18 of the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, and Article 18 of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which explicitly prohibit reservations, and, in any event, is incompatible with the object and purpose of these treaties.
The Republic of Cyprus, therefore, rejects the aforesaid Declaration made by the Republic of Turkey and considers it to be null and void. The Objection of the Republic of Cyprus shall not preclude the entry into force of the Amendment to the Protocol, in its entirety, between the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Turkey.”