On the occasion of the Southern European Countries Summit, or MED7, which was held in the Cypriot capital Nicosia on January 29, President Macron declared that France supported Cypriot sovereignty, assuring President Anastasiades not only of solidarity, but of the support of France in this matter, in particular vis-à-vis Turkey.
This declaration comes in a tense situation, while the island's authorities have undertaken underwater explorations with the aim of finding and exploiting significant reserves of natural gas, located in the country's waters. Exploitations widely contested by Turkey, which considers that it would be a dispossession of the inhabitants of the Turkish part of the island.
Cyprus remains one of the most important areas of tension in Europe, between the Turkish army and the Cypriot and Greek armies. The separation between the two parts of the island, called the green strip, is ensured by a United Nations interposition force.