If they really want to talk then they should recognize the Republic of Cyprus, President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Anastasiades in response to the Turkish Foreign Minister's statements on the sharing of Cyprus' natural gas.
Asked to comment on the statements of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who reiterated the demand for equal sharing of gas with the Turkish Cypriots, calling on the EU to intervene in order for Cyprus' gas to pass through Turkey to Europe, the President of the Republic said that "what I have to answer to Mr. Cavusoglu is, if he really wants to talk (then) before and above all he should recognize the Republic of Cyprus.
Second, and equally important is to accept our proposal, our invitation to either dialogue to determine the demarcation lines between the EEZ of the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey or to resort to arbitration.
If and when they accept something similar and the decision will now determine the dividing lines between the EEZ of the two countries, everything can be on the table if and when studies show that a similar solution may be more appropriate."
Asked whether Nicosia favours a pipeline from Israel to Cyprus and a floating liquefaction plant in Cyprus and to a remark that today the US Assistant Secretary of State did not seem to disagree, the President said that "it is not a Cyprus issue, it is a matter of a quadrilateral decision between Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Italy. It is a project for which Europe has decided that it should even finance the feasibility study in order to execute it. Therefore, it is not a matter of Cyprus or our claims."
In response to a journalist's remark that the proposal concerns Energeian, the President said that "I do not comment on proposals that are still under discussion."
Asked if he still considers the EastMed pipeline viable, President Anastasiades said that "everything will depend on the study that is being carried out with EU funding".
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
