British Minister for Europe David Lidington, expressed, on Wednesday, the hope that whoever emerges as victor in the Cyprus presidential elections in February, will see the effort for a settlement of the Cyprus issue as a priority.
The British government policy, he said addressing a meeting of the British All Party Parliamentary Group for Cyprus, has not changed. It is committed to work towards a comprehensive settlement which will create a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with equal rights for all communities in compliance with the relative Security Council resolutions, he added.
Lidington further noted that Britain takes very seriously its responsibilities as one of the guarantor powers. He explained, that this means Britain respects the sovereignty and independence of Cyprus.
We take very seriously the obligations set out in the Treaty of Guarantee not to support the partition of Cyprus or the union of any part of Cyprus with another country, he said.
Some MPs as individuals may advocate partition, he noted, pointing out that “they do not speak for the British government I want to make that absolutely clear”.
The British minister continued to note that the UK cannot play the role of an arbitrator in the Cyprus talks.
He expressed the point of view that if any settlement is going to last it has to be owned by the different communities.
Our role is that of supporting the Cypriot owned and Cypriot led talks as well as the UN Secretary General and his Special Representative, he said.
Referring to the exploration of hydrocarbon resources within Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Lidington said it has highlighted in a dramatic way the prize that is available if a settlement is reached because those riches should be shared between all communities in Cyprus.
At the moment political deadlock gets in the way of all Cypriots benefiting from the prosperity those resources could produce, he concluded.
Cyprus was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN led talks have been underway with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof.
Cyprus has signed an agreement to delineate the Exclusive Economic Zone with Egypt and Israel with a view to exploit any possible natural gas and oil reserves in its EEZ. A similar agreement has been signed with Lebanon but the Lebanese Parliament has not yet ratified it.
The first licensing round, concluded in 2007, resulted in granting concessions to Houston-based “Noble Energy” for exploratory drilling in Cyprus’ EEZ block 12. Noble started drilling on September 2011 and the initial data that emerged from the exploratory drilling and the evaluation checks carried out, indicate the existence of a natural gas reservoir ranging from 5 to 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) with a gross mean of 7 tcf.
The government approved on November 23, 2011 the launch of a second licensing round for the remaining 12 offshore blocks, a decision published at the EU Official Journal on February 11, 2012 and expired on May 11, after a three-month bidding period.
Fifteen companies and joint ventures, including energy heavyweights such as French Total and Korean KOGAS, have bided for 9 out of Cyprus 12 offshore exploration blocks.
The government recently decided to proceed with negotiations for 4 offshore blocks in Cyprus’ EEZ, in the framework of the second licensing round. Negotiations with the companies are expected to conclude within 2013
Ankara has threatened Cyprus when Nicosia launched its exploration activities within its EEZ and announced the second round of licensing for off-shore hydrocarbons. The government of Cyprus has protested to the UN and the EU Turkey’s moves, saying it has a sovereign right to exploit its natural resources.