No secret deal with Turkey on gas, Cyprus gov’t spokesman says
Cypriot government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou has rejected Turkish press reports that President Nicos Anastasiades had secretly agreed on a deal with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to divert a proposed natural gas pipeline to Turkey in exchange for a solution of the Cyprus problem.
Turkish news portal T24 and several social media commentators have in the last few days speculated that Turkey has agreed not to interfere with Cyprus’s offshore drilling.
Stena IceMax has been commissioned by US oil giant ExxonMobil to conduct exploratory drilling in Block 10 of Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) south of the island.
“I categorically deny that such a discussion took place,” Prodromou said Tuesday. [Kathimerini Cyprus]
