A maritime demarcation deal signed between Lebanon and Cyprus violates the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the island and is therefore unacceptable, Turkey said on Thursday.

Lebanon and Cyprus on Wednesday signed the long-awaited deal, delimiting the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which aims to pave the way for potential exploration of offshore gas fields and deepen energy cooperation in the Mediterranean.

“It is not possible for us to accept any agreement in which the rights of the TRNC are disregarded,” the Turkish defence ministry said at its weekly press briefing.

Ankara has accused the south of signing bilateral agreements since 2003 that limit the island’s maritime zones without consulting the north, saying it “directly concerns the equal rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots on the island”.

“Southern Cyprus does not represent the Turkish Cypriots nor the entire island and does not have the authority to take actions that concern the whole of Cyprus,” it said in a statement.

Turkey called on the international community not to support “these unilateral moves by southern Cyprus, aimed at circumventing the legitimate rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots”, and assured that Turkey would continue to support the north in defending its interests.

“The signing of such an agreement by Lebanon or another neighbouring country with southern Cyprus directly concerns the equal rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots on the island,” it said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, on Thursday expressed similar criticism over the agreement, describing it as “neither fair nor in favour of a solution”.

“It should be understood that, while sitting at the negotiating table, expecting the Greek Cypriot leadership to continue signing agreements on behalf of the entire island without the will of the Turkish Cypriots, who are one of the two equal partners and have equal sovereign rights,” Erhurman said.

He said the agreement isolated the Turkish Cypriot side from the international community.

“[The agreement] reinforces the position that the status quo should not change, that the Greek Cypriots should continue to be the only owners on the island as if there were no Turkish Cypriots and that the Turkish Cypriots should sit and wait,” he said, adding that this was not acceptable.

Meanwhile, President Nikos on Wednesday referred to the agreement as“a milestone of strategic importance”, following 20 years of talks on the matter.

“We are sending a strong, political message that Cyprus and Lebanon, on the basis of international law, relevant United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and of course good neighbourly relations, continue to invest in strengthening trust and mutual respect,” Christodoulides said.

During his visit, Christodoulides and his counterpart Joseph Aoun agreed to examine the possibility of establishing an electricity interconnection between Cyprus and Lebanon.