The president of Cyprus has rebuked a United Nations envoy for speaking of a possible crisis over the ethnically divided country's search for offshore oil and gas.
The envoy, Espen Barth Eide, was quoted in Greek newspaper To Vima as expressing concern about the issue. In similar remarks earlier this month, Eide said an "international crisis" could put at risk the ongoing talks to reunify the island.
President Nicos Anastasiades, a Greek Cypriot, today called Eide's remarks "unacceptable."
Turkey and the Cypriot government are sharply divided over the energy search.
Turkey opposes what it calls a unilateral Greek Cypriot project which flouts the rights of breakaway Turkish Cypriots.
French energy company Total is scheduled to drill an exploratory well off Cyprus' southern coast in mid-July.
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