Cyprus has hailed the agreement between Lebanon and Israel demarcating a contested maritime border as being a very important development.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said it would contribute to the creation of conditions of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Furthermore, Nicosia added the development would give additional momentum to the efforts to complete maritime delimitations in the Eastern Mediterranean and to exploit its energy wealth at a “particularly critical moment for regional and European energy security and the security of energy supply.”
The new deal lays the groundwork for resolving a long-standing dispute over an area in the Eastern Mediterranean containing at least two natural gas fields: Karish, an Israeli-developed natural gas field, and Qana, a smaller natural gas field that has yet to be explored.
Signing the deal would be considered a landmark breakthrough in the ties between the two countries, which have been in an official state of war since the creation of Israel in 1948.
