This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Athens • Greece, Egypt and Cyprus say they will speed up talks on how to stake out undersea territory in the Mediterranean, following the discovery of a large gas field off Egypt's coast.
At a meeting in Athens on Wednesday, the three countries' leaders issued a joint statement saying they would accelerate talks to resolve "outstanding issues" on delineating their maritime zones.
In August, Italian energy giant Eni announced the discovery of what it described as one of the world's biggest natural gas fields off Egypt. Cyprus and Greece are also hoping to exploit Mediterranean offshore gas and oil reserves.
After talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras voiced hopes that the three countries can cooperate on gas transportation to European markets.