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Gas exploration programme will continue unhindered

23/12/2021 16:20

Republic of Cyprus gas exploration programme will continue unhindered, President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, has stressed, commenting on Turkish threats.

Asked on the sidelines of a visit he paid on Thursday to a military camp, on the occasion of Christmas celebrations, if there is a possibility for the consortium that started drilling in “Glafkos” gas field to proceed with a drilling program in a second field, despite  Turkish threats, the President said that “the exploration programme of the Republic of Cyprus will continue unhindered."

“I`m not saying that drilling will take place next year, but there will certainly be exploratory drills in block 5 licensed to ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum”, he added.
 
President Anastasiades expressed the wish 2022 to be the year of the reunification of the country and the establishment of a state that will be functional and therefore viable, with respect to human rights.
 
President Anastasiades conveyed the will and the determination of the Government to constructively work through diplomacy, through the strengthening of relations with other countries, in order to prevent what Turkey is seeking with a view to perpetuate its presence to the island and to control the entire territory of the country.
 
He said it is his duty to appeal to the Turkish Cypriots in order for them to realize that along with the Greek Cypriots who suffer from the occupation, they are suffering as well.
 
"The usurpation of properties, the usurpation of part of a country is not always to the benefit of the usurper. Our compatriots experience the effects of the occupation that directly affect them through the control imposed by Turkey,” he said.
 
Asked about the pandemic the President called on people "especially during these days to take into account that we are trying in every way to ensure that the measures we take protect the public health on one hand and on the other hand protect the workers, the businessmen and the economy.”
 
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.