British Ministers – Cyprus – Exclusive economic zone

British Minister for Europe, David Lidington, has said that the Republic of Cyprus has begun exploration drilling for hydrocarbon deposits in its Exclusive Economic Zone, acting on the basis on its sovereign rights. The Minister also said that Britain expresses this position to Turkish officials on every possible occasion.

Lidington, who was addressing an event on Cyprus, organized in Manchester in the framework of the Conservative Party Conference, expressed hope that a bi-communal, federal solution is reached in Cyprus through the ongoing negotiations, saying that “we will continue to do what lies within our power to give support to courageous leaders, who will have to take risks in the search for compromise”.

Speaking at the same event, Minister for Transport, Theresa Villiers, said the benefits for all communities on the island should drive a solution in Cyprus and stressed that the geopolitics of Cyprus and Israel may be changing with the discovery of significant fossil fuel deposits in the region.

“I believe that such a discovery can be very positive for Europe’s energy security and potentially very positive for the Cyprus economy”, she stressed.

Villiers also underscored that “it is therefore vitally important that the drilling goes ahead and that we can use it as the financial underpinning of a just and lasting solution for the island”.

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