Cyprus and Lebanon deepen ties

THERE IS no dispute between Cyprus and Lebanon over the issue of hydrocarbons, and the two nations are keen to work together on energy, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday.
“We have a common interest with Lebanon because we have a common Exclusive Economic Zone, so there is no problem between us,” Christofias said in Beirut during an official visit there.
“Of course,” he added, “there is the problem between Lebanon and Israel, and efforts are being made to bridge the difference.”
Christofias expressed the hope that soon Lebanon would proceed with the licensing of its own offshore blocks, and noted that Lebanon wanted to gain from Cyprus’ experience and that Cyprus was ready to pass it on.
The President was seeking to downplay the issue of the EEZs which cuts through Cyprus’ relations and agreements with both Lebanon and Israel.
Nicosia signed an agreement defining the EEZ with Lebanon in 2007, although this has yet to be ratified by the Lebanese parliament.
The coordinates of Lebanon’s own delimitation of its land and maritime borders with Israel, submitted to the UN in 2010, create an overlap of some 850 square kilometres with Israeli-claimed maritime territory. Lebanon’s demands for Cyprus to adjust its delimitation agreement with Israel so as to reflect Lebanon’s claims have been rebuffed by Nicosia. Both Cyprus and the US have sent diplomats to the region in an attempt to mediate between Lebanon and Israel.
During Christofias’ visit to Beirut the two nations signed two defence agreements: one on defence and military cooperation and another on the mutual protection and exchange of classified information, signed by the countries’ respective defence ministers.
Defence Minister Demetris Eliades said the agreements were a significant step in the further bolstering of bilateral relations and that Cyprus would be developing balanced relations through reliable and multifaceted defence diplomacy with its neighbours in the sector of defence and security.
Addressing a state dinner later in the day, Christofias expressed the belief that talks with the Lebanese government would enhance cooperation between the two states in all areas.
Cyprus became a safe haven for Lebanese citizens during the difficult years of the Lebanese war, he said, while Cyprus supports the liberation of the occupied territories of Lebanon and all Arab territories as well as the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law.
“We also welcome the policy of President Sleiman and the Lebanese government to keep the country away from the crisis in neighbouring Syria, while addressing the humanitarian problems, by offering shelter to tens of thousands of displaced people from the neighbouring country,” Christofias said.

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.