Foreign Desk Report
MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Cyprus on Tuesday that Moscow was ready to help mediate in any talks with Turkey over energy exploration in the east Mediterranean Sea.
A decades-old rift between Turkey and Cyprus, which is backed by Greece, has come to a head this year in disputes over commercial rights in the east Mediterranean, an area thought to be rich in natural gas. “As far as your relations with Turkey are concerned, we are ready to promote dialogue, pragmatically based on mutual interests,” Lavrov said at a meeting with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia.
