Egypt Warns against Turkish Drilling off Cyprus

CAIRO - 4 May 2019: Egypt's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday in which it urged Turkey not to start drilling for oil and gas off Cyprus as the move is deemed illegal by all International laws.

Egypt, which last year signed a gas deal with Cyprus, said Saturday it was following the situation "with interest and concern".

In the statement, it warned of "the repercussions of any unilateral measures on the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean" and urged states in the region to abide by international law.

Egypt and Cyprus agreed in September to build a pipeline to pump Cypriot gas hundreds of kilometers to Egypt for processing and export to Europe.