Europe minister David Lidington (left) met Turkish Cypriot president Derviş Eroğlu on Wednesday
Energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean should be used for the benefit of all communities in Cyprus, Britain’s Europe minister has said.
David Lidington said on an official trip to the island that it was the Greek-led Republic of Cyprus’s sovereign right to exploit the seas for natural gas, but that any benefits should be enjoyed by both sides.
The comments are an attempt to strike a balance between the Greek and Turkish positions in the dispute over the energy reserves, which caused peace talks on the island to collapse last month.
Speaking after a meeting with Greek Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades, Mr Lidington was quoted by the Cyprus Mail as saying: “We also have the consistent view that hydrocarbon resources are to be used for the benefits of all Cypriots… that after all is one of the great prizes to be won through a Cyprus settlement.”
Mr Lidington also held meetings with Turkish Cypriot president Derviş Eroğlu and Espen Barth Eide, the UN special envoy for the island.
But he insisted it was up to the two communities to find a way to return the negotiating table.
The Greek Cypriot leadership abandoned peace talks in October after Turkey sent ships to search for energy reserves in waters off the Cypriot coast, an area described by the international community as Cyprus’s “exclusive economic zone”.
Turkey says its explorations are intended to defend the rights of Turkish Cypriots.
POSSIBLE MEETING BEFORE APRIL
Speaking after a separate meeting with Mr Eroğlu on Wednesday, UN special envoy Eide said he remained increasingly convinced that there was nothing that could not be resolved through negotiations.
There was still a hope that Mr Eroğlu and Mr Anastasiades could meet before Turkish Cypriot presidential elections in April, Mr Eide said, but there was an urgent need for reciprocal trust and a mutual determination to restart the talks.