LEBANESE Prime Minister Saad Hariri said yesterday his country would soon define its offshore boundaries with Cyprus and Syria, and would move ahead with licensing exploration for oil and gas, as Turkey simultaneously announced it would start searching for oil off the island’s northern coast.
Hariri, on a one-day visit to Cyprus, was speaking after talks with President Demetris Christofias at the Presidential Palace, where the two leaders also decided to further expand bilateral relations.
''We are finalising the [exclusive] economic zones with Syria, and hopefully soon we will be sending to parliament the whole area for ratification,'' Hariri told newsmen.
Asked why an agreement between the two countries was still pending before the Lebanese Parliament, Hariri said that at one point there were “some differences on this agreement with Cyprus, we had some differences with Syria, now we have a much better relationship with Syria and we are negotiating the economic zone”
“Our goal is to move ahead on this issue,” he added.
Cyprus has an agreement with Egypt defining its sea boundaries, has signed an agreement pending ratification with Lebanon, and is holding talks with Israel.
Cyprus carried out one licensing round for deepwater exploration in the eastern Mediterranean in 2007, despite objections from Turkey
Nicosia has accused Ankara of acting as a "bully" in disputes with oil exploration licenses. Both Turkey and Turkish Cypriots say Greek Cypriots have no authority to explore for oil or gas.
Hariri said he promised President Christofias his government would be sending Lebanon’s Minister of Energy and Environment to Cyprus to exchange views and guidance.
Calling the talks with Christofias “excellent,” Hariri affirmed both their countries’ desire to boost economic and other ties.
Meanwhile Turkey announced yesterday it would begin searching for oil off the north of Cyprus.
"We will begin work on oil exploration around Cyprus and in our exclusive territory," Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told a conference in Ankara, shortly after Turkey signed an energy protocol with the breakaway Turkish Cypriot regime in the north.
Yildiz said the area earmarked for oil exploration included 288,000 square kilometres between the Turkish city of Mersin, off Turkey's southern coast, and northern Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.
“We are working on supplying the Greek Cypriot side with energy if requested," he said.
i like to see turkey try stop it after they said they would
