ATHENS: Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos met with Greek officials in Athens on Wednesday, amid a growing dispute with Turkey over exploration plans for offshore oil and gas deposits. Papadopoulos will meet Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and opposition party leaders. He is also expected to discuss ways to restart UN-sponsored talks on the reunification of Cyprus, and the progress of Turkey s EU membership negotiations. Turkey has warned Cyprus not to proceed with plans to start oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, saying it would conflict with Turkish rights in the area as well as those of Turkish Cypriots in breakaway northern Cyprus. But last week, Cyprus opened international bidding for 11 offshore blocks, with a number of international firms showing interest. Cyprus has also signed deals with Lebanon and Egypt to mark out Mediterranean Sea boundaries. In response, Turkish officials said they could proceed with their own exploration plans _ threatening tension with Greece. Both countries came close to war in 1987 because of a dispute over oil rights ins disputed areas of the Aegean Sea. Cyprus has been divided since Turkey s invasion in 1974. Turkey, which supports a breakaway state in northern Cyprus, does not recognize the Greek-Cypriot government in the island s south. On Monday, Bakoyannis accused Turkey of indirectly creating a climate of tension in the eastern Mediterranean for no reason.
