Anastasiades: Cyprus will continue its energy policy despite Turkish threats

President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday Cyprus would continue with its energy policies, despite any provocation or threat face from Turkey.

“Cyprus does not object to Turkey’s participation. We do not want Turkey to be excluded from the wider network of energy synergies that have developed in the region and which promote security, stability and the alternative option for the EU,” he said.

Addressing the 10^th Energy Symposium ‘Cyprus: Energy Hub in the Eastern Mediterranean’, the president said that Cyprus has no objections to Turkey being part of the wide network of energy cooperation that has developed, but they would have to stop their illegal actions, denying the existence of Cyprus’ and Greece’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs), or the law of the seas and sovereignty of the states in the area.

“Our ultimate goal is the exploitation of our energy deposits and the transition of the country to green energy through the strengthening of the security of energy supply, the removal of energy isolation and the operation of both the competitive electricity market and the internal natural gas market at the lowest possible cost to the consumer,” he said.

Commenting on the government strategy, the president said that they always take into account the major challenges of the sector, while the strategy followed evolves and is modified according to the current data.

On the energy crisis the EU is facing due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the president said that the union was constantly looking for new sources of energy, and that in turn this speeds up investment.

“It is in this context that the memorandum of understanding between the EU, Israel, and Egypt was signed last July, for the transfer of natural gas to the EU through Egypt’s liquefaction terminals, either from Egyptian and Israeli reserves or from other sources in the Eastern Mediterranean, which demonstrates in practice that Cyprus and our region can provide a reliable, alternative energy supply to Europe, which will include a variety of sources and routes,” he said.

The president added that the dream is to create an East Med energy corridor that will include various sources and paths.

On renewable energy, Anastasiades said that it could be possible by export energy through the EuroAsia Interconnector, or through some relevant Saudi Arabian studies on transferring hydrogen through Cyprus.

Anastasiades added that Cyprus has also made a proposal to the EU Council to utilise the large stretches of desert in the Sahara to produce solar energy, which could be brought to Europe from the creation of the EuroAfrica Interconnector.