Cyprus official says Israel-Hamas war may give an impetus to regional energy projects
abcnews.go.comCyprus’ energy minister says the political and economic ramifications from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war may provide an impetus to regional energy projects involving his country
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The political and economic ramifications from the Israel-Hamas war may provide an impetus to plans for a pipeline conveying offshore natural gas to Cyprus for processing and shipping to foreign markets, the east Mediterranean island nation's energy minister said Tuesday.
The fighting in the Gaza Strip and Israel's desire to boost its energy security also lend weight to a proposed 2,000-megawatt undersea electricity cable that would connect the power grids of Israel and Cyprus to the European mainland via Greece, Cypriot Energy Minister George Papanastasiou said.
Papanastasiou said Israel's contacts with Turkey for possible energy cooperation — part and parcel of the Israeli government's desire to keeping all available options open — may have fallen by the wayside given Turkey's increasingly harsh criticism of Israeli actions in Gaza.
After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of participants at a a pro-Palestinian rally last month that his country planned to formally accuse Israel of committing war crimes, the Israeli government said it was reassessing diplomatic relations with Ankara.
The deteriorating relationship may have narrowed Israel's options for exporting its excess gas supply to the alternatives offered by neighboring Cyprus.
The war “has changed the situation somewhat, and that's where Cyprus has to take advantage of this emerging window of opportunity,” Papanastasiou told the Associated Press in an interview.
The United Arab Emirates has shown “immediate” interest in investing in the 1.9
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