Filenews 20 January 2026
According to the Israeli website The Globes, a delegation from the Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure will be in Nicosia this week, with the aim of finalizing the agreement for the development of the Aphrodite reserve, a small part of which (called the Isaiah reserve) is located within Israel's EEZ.
This was preceded by new talks between Cyprus and Israel during the trilateral Israel-Cyprus-Greece conference, which took place in Jerusalem in December.
According to the website, at the conference, Israel's Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Eli Cohen, agreed with his Cypriot counterpart, Michalis Damianos, to speed up the talks, in order to agree on the final percentage of the deposit that will be recognized as the Isaiah reserve.
"The idea is to put the decision of the energy ministers into practice and move the process forward. The aim is to enable ministers to sign an agreement in February," a senior Cypriot official told the Globes. The Cyprus News Agency reported last week that the Aphrodite-Isai field deal "appears to be entering the final stage."
The Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure said the following: "The delegation that will depart this week for discussions in Cyprus will work to promote the signing of the agreement. The proposed outline is a joint procedure for selecting an expert who will examine the geological data and the development plan and, based on them, determine Israel's share of the deposit and ensure appropriate compensation."
