Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou has hailed as “very important” a statement by the State Department that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has told her Turkish counterpart that the United States supports Cyprus’s right to exploit its energy resources.

Clinton also said that the search for natural gas or oil, off Cyprus’ coast, in the country’s exclusive economic zone, does not undermine or interfere with the UN-led peace talks aiming at a political settlement in Cyprus.

Asked to comment on the specific remark, Stefanou said it was a “very important statement,“ noting three points.

“The first is that the US make it clear that they respect and recognize the right of Cyprus to investigate and exploit its own natural wealth, a self-evident sovereign right. The second is that they disassociate this right from the solution of the Cyprus problem. And the third is that with this statement the US supports the ongoing process to solve the Cyprus problem,“ he said.