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Russia calls for peaceful resolution of situation in Cyprus's economic zone

Moscow hopes that the interested states will act in accordance with international law

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Moscow has been following the situation in Cyprus's economic zone with concern, calling for a peaceful resolution, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

Italy’s Eni oil company said earlier that its Saipem 12000 drillship, traveling to an area off Cyprus to start searching for gas, had been stopped by Turkish military ships.

"We believe that the interested parties should refrain from taking steps that could escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, raising the existing regional differences," she said. "We hope that the interested states will act in accordance with international law and call on the involved countries to search for peaceful ways to resolve their contradictions," the Russian diplomat added.

According to Zakharova, such incidents "once again point to the need to find ways to resolve the Cyprus issue as soon as possible, based on the UN criteria." "Our stance remains unchanged: we call for achieving a comprehensive, fair and viable solution fore the sake of all of the island’s residents," Zakharova stressed. "We will support a decision the Cypriots will find," she stressed.