Cyprus has right to explore oil deposits, says US

Acting Spokesman for the US State Department Gonzalo Gallegos has said that the Republic of Cyprus is a sovereign nation and has the right to invite bids for oil exploration within its own economic zone.

He also said that the involvement of US firms in investments, such as the exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean, is a business decision, not a political one.

Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday regarding the US position on tenders by the Republic of Cyprus for the exploitation of oil and natural gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean, Gallegos said ”the Republic of Cyprus has announced the results of bids to obtain oil and gas exploration licenses in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone.”

He added that ”an American firm is among the bidders” and that ”the Republic of Cyprus is a sovereign nation with the right to request bids for oil exploration within its own economic zone.”

”The involvement of US firms in such investment is a business decision, not a political one,” he concluded.