The Office of the President on Wednesday said that the Turkish Cypriot side has been sharing information with Greek Cypriot authorities regarding the oil slick off the coast of the Karpaz peninsula since the evening of August 30.

The president’s office said that President Ersin Tatar’s Special Representative Ergün Olgun has been regularly updating the Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyannis on the situation.

A written statement was issued on Wednesday evening responding to claims by Greek Cypriot officials that they were being kept in the dark by the Turkish Cypriot side.

The statement pointed out that a joint action plan had been created following a conversation between President Ersin Tatar and Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay who had then instructed relevant ministries from both countries.

“Following these instructions a crisis management desk was set up, the situation was monitored, preparations were made and vessels dispatched to the area,” it read.

The statement issued by the Office of the President also said that the Greek Cypriot side had requested a vessel from the European Maritime Security Agency (EMSA) in the event the slick reached their shores and had offered to assist if the need emerged.

“Information is being shared regularly between Special Representative Ergün Olgun and the Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyannis since the evening of August 30 through a channel of communication. Furthermore both sides had confirmed through this channel of communication that they are ready to cooperate if any of the two sides require additional assistance,” the statement said.

It added that information was not only shared with the Greek Cypriot side but with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Chief of the UN Mission in Cyprus Elizabeth Spehar.

The statement said that the claim that information was not being shared with the Greek Cypriot side was baseless.