NNN – Israel is sticking to its agreement with Cyprus in which the two countries delimited their respective exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the eastern Mediterranean, Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus Sammy Revel said Friday.
He commented on a statement by Turkey‘s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to a Turkish TV channel that “Israel, in order to sign an agreement with Turkey similar to the one Ankara signed with Libya, must cancel the agreement it signed with the ‘Greek Cypriot administration’.”
Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state, referring to the Republic of Cyprus as the “Greek Cypriot administration”.
“Israel respects the rights of Cyprus in exercising its sovereign rights in its EEZ. Israel is fully committed to the agreement on the delimitation of the EEZ signed with the Republic of Cyprus in 2010,” Revel told the official Cyprus News Agency, when invited to comment on Cavusoglu’s suggestion.
Israel and Cyprus are currently engaged in negotiations for the joint exploitation of a Cypriot gas field which extends into the Israeli EEZ.
