Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, terrorist Benjamin Netanyahu and South Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades were to sign the deal at 1630 GMT.

The agreement comes amid tensions with Turkey over its own activities in the area and a maritime deal with Libya expanding Ankara's claims over a large gas-rich area of the Mediterranean.

The Eastern Mediterranean pipeline or simply EastMed, which has the initial capacity of 10 bcm/y, is a planned offshore/onshore natural gas pipeline, directly connecting East Mediterranean energy resources to mainland Greece via Cyprus and Crete. (ILKHA)