S Cyprus, Lebanon Sign ‘Milestone’ Agreement

In Beirut, President Nikos Christodoulides described the agreement “a milestone of strategic importance”, ending 20 years of talks on the issue.

Christodoulides travelled to Lebanon on Wednesday morning, where he held a private meeting with his counterpart, Joseph Aoun. An expanded meeting followed, after which Christodoulides and the Lebanese Minister of Transport and Public Works, Fayez Rassamni, signed the agreement on the delimitation of the EEZ. 

He said the deal was an “important and historic occasion” and a milestone of strategic importance “which seals, in the clearest way, the level of our relations”.

“We are sending a strong, political message that Cyprus and Lebanon, on the basis of international law, relevant United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and of course good neighbourly relations, continue to invest in strengthening trust and mutual respect,” Christodoulides said.

He cited among other things, “the close and timeless ties that unite our countries, as well as our personal friendship.” 

The agreement that was signed on Wednesday, the president said, would be to the benefit of Cypriots, Lebanese and the people of the region in general.

“We are bringing to an end a long-standing issue and are now looking to the future and to what, based on this, our countries can create together,” he said.

Christodoulides thanked his Lebanese counterpart as the deal would not have been possible “without your own political will and determination, as well as the contribution of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, the government, and the political leadership of Lebanon.”

The successful completion of the negotiations was, he added, the result of “tireless and methodical work in a spirit of trust and transparency, by our two negotiating teams”.

Aoun, in his comments said the deal paved the way for the exploration of the marine resources of the two countries and could “form a foundation for international cooperation that can be extended to the entire region”.

“This agreement will allow both Lebanon and Cyprus to begin exploring their respective marine resources and will also strengthen cooperation between our countries at this level,” he said.

“We can now work on developing bilateral agreements, thus facilitating and strengthening the work of exploration companies in both countries.”

He also said that the launch of new joint projects in the energy sectors, especially renewable energy, as well as in telecommunications, electricity transmission and joint tourism programmes, could now proceed.

At the same time, he added, the two countries continue to cooperate in the field of common defence, security and search and rescue. 

“Our cooperation does not target anyone, nor does it exclude anyone. It is not intended to block the path of any friend or partner. On the contrary, we want this agreement to be the foundation of an international cooperation that we wish to extend throughout our region, in order to offer stability and prosperity to all our countries and peoples,” Aoun said.

“We believe that this is the only way to put an end to the violence, wars and policies of hegemonic greed that have cost our region and its peoples so dearly.”

The Cyprus News Agency (CNA) said the agreement was based on the Median Line between the two countries, which was a long-standing position of the Republic.

The initial Cyprus-Lebanon EEZ Agreement was signed in January 2007, but was not ratified by Lebanon due to internal issues. After the signing of the Cyprus-Israel EEZ Agreement in 2010, the Lebanese side made claims of loss of maritime area, which were related to the dispute between them. The Lebanon-Israel dispute was resolved in 2022 through an agreement under American mediation, defining their lateral maritime boundary.

Following the election of President Aoun in January 2025, the Cyprus and Lebanon negotiations resumed at an intensive pace. In September 2025, negotiations were held in Beirut and a revised text of the deal was agreed upon, which was approved by the cabinets of both countries in October.

Turkey has consistently expressed opposition and taken actions to avoid signing this agreement. “Negotiations and discussions were conducted intensively, discreetly and methodically with the aim of achieving this historic agreement,” a source from the presidency told CNA.

The deal, the source said, substantially strengthens the prospects for cooperation in critical sectors, such as energy and infrastructure and provides the necessary legal and economic certainty and security to potential investor.

The two presidents on Wednesday also welcomed the dialogue that has already begun on the Cyprus-Lebanon electricity interconnection. Christodoulides said both countries had jointly approached the World Bank to prepare a relevant feasibility study” for the specific project.

In addition to the signing of the agreement and discussions on broader energy issues, Christodoulides said the two leaders also had the opportunity to exchange views on the further expansion of bilateral cooperation, regional developments that directly affect the two countries, and Lebanon-EU relations, “which Cyprus supports practically and substantially”.

Source: Cyprus Mail