Hydrocarbon account for both communities FM says

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Friday that the government was looking into setting up an escrow account where it could deposit part of the natural gas revenues to be used for future generations.

The foreign minister sought to clarify a statement made during a lunch on Thursday, which, as he said, was wrongly interpreted.

“I did not say that the revenues in question will be exclusively earmarked for the Turkish Cypriot community to satisfy Turkey’s demands,” Kasoulides said in a written statement.

“I said that the Republic is examining the creation of the said account … where part of the revenues from hydrocarbons could be deposited and through investment, they could benefit the future generation of Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,” he said.

Turkey, which supports a Turkish Cypriot breakaway state in north Cyprus, disputes Nicosia’s rights to search for gas.

Greek Cypriots say Turkish Cypriots can share potential benefits, but only when there is a peace deal.

Anakara has sent a research vessel, the Barbaros, to carry out seismic surveys close to exploration sites that Cyprus has already licensed to Italy’s ENI, France’s Total and U.S. Noble Energy.

The move prompted President Nicos Anastasiades to pull out of reunification talks.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.