Cypriot Pres: Lebanon, Egypt Oil Exploration Deals to Go Ahead

The president of Cyprus said in a newspaper interview published Sunday that he has received assurances from Egypt and Lebanon that they will go ahead with oil and gas exploration deals with the island despite threats from Turkey.

Cyprus signed a deal with Lebanon last month to mark out their undersea border to facilitate future oil and gas exploration. It signed a similar deal with Egypt last year and agreed to jointly exploit potential oil and gas fields.


Turkey protested the deals, saying it had “legitimate and legal rights and interests” in the eastern Mediterranean. It insisted Turkish Cypriots should also have a say in the island’s oil and gas rights.

In his first comments since Turkey warned Egypt and Lebanon not to press ahead with the deal, Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos said he received assurances from both countries that they will honor their agreements.

Dow Jones Newswires