Cyprus’s new foreign minister, Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis made a two-day visit to Israel to discuss the issue of the gas fields that lie under the eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus has recently signed a maritime exploration with Israel, and the two countries are looking to cooperate further on the issue of gas. It is estimated that nearly 122 trillion cubic feet of gas and around 4 billion barrels of oil lie in the region, running south from Syria and Lebanon.

The dialogue on the matter has raised tensions with Turkey which invaded Cyprus in 1974 and seized the northern area. Turkey rejects the right of Nicosia’s governments move to exploit the islands resources.

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