President Joseph Aoun and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides with troops at the Baabda Presidential Palace on Nov. 26, 2025. (Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
BEIRUT — Lebanon and Cyprus signed on Wednesday the agreement on the delimitation of their maritime border, which had been awaited for just under 20 years, the Lebanese presidency announced on X. The signing took place at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, where Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides met with his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun, earlier in the day.
During a press conference following the signing, both Aoun and Christodoulides emphasized that the agreement would enable Lebanon and Cyprus to begin exploring their offshore resources and strengthen cooperation in this field. The Lebanese president thanked his counterpart for the “efforts undertaken” to reach this agreement.
“You have confirmed to us once again that respect for international law strengthens friendship between states. The geography of the Mediterranean unites us, just as history and the future do,” he added, while noting that “much remains to be accomplished together.”
The delimitation, which had been approved by the government on Oct. 23, is controversial and contested by several parties, notably the Amal-Hezbollah alliance.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA) stated that Christodoulides arrived at Beirut airport on Wednesday morning, where he was received by Public Works Minister Fayez Rasamny and Cypriot Ambassador to Lebanon Maria Hadjitheodosiou.
The issue of the maritime border had been at a standstill since 2007, until last July when Aoun and his Cypriot counterpart committed to pursuing negotiations at a bilateral summit in Nicosia. To strengthen Lebanon's appeal for offshore exploitation by oil companies, the country is working to resolve its border disputes with Cyprus, Israel and Syria.
While some parties consider the agreement a diplomatic success, others believe Lebanon could have secured a larger area, as Beirut adopted the “median line theory” as the delimitation method — a solution seen as fair by the government-formed committee, but criticized by some camps who point to Lebanon's short coastline compared to an island like Cyprus.
According to them, Lebanon could have claimed between 2,600 and 5,000 additional square kilometers.
In October 2022, Lebanon signed an agreement with Israel on the delimitation of their shared maritime border, after months of indirect negotiations brokered by the United States.
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