The Cyprus-Lebanon AOZ opens a new chapter in the energy and geopolitical context of the Eastern Mediterranean - ProtoThema English

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

57% : If implemented, the Cyprus-Lebanon link could eventually integrate into wider Eastern Mediterranean-Europe electricity corridors, strengthening Cyprus's role as a bridge between the EU and the Middle East.
57% : It also facilitates its relationship with the European Union at a moment when Cyprus is preparing to assume the rotating presidency of the Council in January, positioning Nicosia as a conduit between Brussels and Beirut.
56% : The Cypriot government calls the agreement a "milestone of strategic importance" that enhances Cyprus' sovereign rights, strengthens regional energy security, and sends a clear message: a small EU member state can successfully conclude agreements with all its neighbors based on international law and mutual respect.
52% : Cyprus maintained its commitment to the median-line methodology, as it has with all neighbors who accept the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea -- standing in clear contrast to Turkey's "special circumstances" doctrine designed to curtail island rights.
50% : The agreement follows the median-line principle, consistent with Cyprus' earlier deals with Egypt and Israel.
50% : It resolves a nearly twenty-year pending issue and creates the legal foundation for exploration and potential hydrocarbon exploitation in the area, at a time when the EU continues to seek alternatives to Russian energy.
48% : The landscape shifted in 2022, when -- after intensive U.S. mediation -- Lebanon and Israel finally reached an agreement to delimit their maritime boundary.
41% : Internal political pressures, concerns that the agreement could be interpreted as tacit acceptance of a maritime line with Israel, and the generally sensitive nature of borders in the region led to the deal being effectively "frozen." In 2010, Cyprus proceeded with another delimitation, this time with Israel, again based on the median line.
41% : Lebanon reacted strongly, arguing that the way the Cyprus-Israel line was drawn encroached on maritime zones it considered its own.
38% : The core of the problem, however, was not Cyprus, but the unresolved Lebanon-Israel maritime dispute.
33% : Beirut brought its objections to the United Nations, and for years any prospect of ratifying the Cyprus agreement collapsed under the political weight of that dispute.

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