January 2012

A field off Cyprus where U.S. firm Noble Energy is conducting exploratory drilling holds an estimated 5-8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, a significant find, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias announced Wednesday.

Mr Christofias said the offshore discovery puts Cyprus on Europe's energy map and is attracting the interest of many foreign investors.

Cyprus has been divided into the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and an Ankara puppet regime since 1974 when Turkey invaded after a military coup by the Greek junta and Cypriot terrorist group EOKA B.

Turkey opposes any energy search by the Cypriot Government, claiming that it could undermine the rights of Turkish Cypriots to oil and gas wealth.

The legitimate Government of Cyprus, however, contend that the gas could act as an incentive to speed up a peace accord, benefiting both Turkish Cypriots and Turkey. President Demetris Christofias has stressed repeatedly that natural resources belong to all Cypriots and that natural resources will be under the jurisdiction of a central federal government if a solution to the Cyprus issue can be achieved in the current talks.

We urge the Australian Government as well as the rest of the world to apply pressure on Turkey to stop the bullying tactics and allow the two Cypriot communities come to a compromise that will see Greek and Turkish Cypriots prosper under a unified federation of Cyprus.