An article in the Guardian titled “Oil and Gas Reserves around Cyprus Give Greece and Turkey More to Fight About”, states that discovering reserves in the region has not galvanized a conciliation between the two sides. The article points to a “war of words” between Athens, Ankara and Nicosia over the oil and gas reserves in the region causing even more wrangling.

Saturday’s energy cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Egypt led to an agreement for all three sides to cooperate, but within minutes of the accord’s announcement Cyprus’s president Nicos Anastasiades accused Turkey of “provocative actions” by sending a surveillance vessel and war ships to search for natural resources in Turkey’s EEZ.

The article states that the talks that were aimed to reunite Greek and Turkish Cypriots fell through even though it had been hoped that the under-sea reserves would have helped the sides resolve for a solution.

The article points to the Cairo agreement, days after Israel stepped up security cooperation with Cyprus.

“Tension is definitely on the rise,” said Hubert Faussmann, associate professor of history and political science at the University of Nicosia, talking to the Guardian from Nicosia. “The peace talks have become a victim of the hydrocarbons which are inseparably linked to the Cyprus problem. They have escalated rather than de-escalated the situation.”