A Cyprus government source has confirmed that Tasos Tzionis, Director of the Cyprus Intelligence Service (KYP), visited Lebanon and held a series of meetings, placing the visit within the month of June.
The same source declined to comment on the substance of the meetings or the identity of the people the KYP chief met with.
The source was responding to a question about a report published today by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, according to which Tzionis met in Beirut with, among others, Hezbollah’s leadership.
The newspaper, citing informed sources, says the visit included a series of political and security contacts. The KYP chief reportedly met with the head of the Lebanese army, General Rodolphe Haikal, and the Director of Military Intelligence, Brigadier General Tony Kahwaji.
Also on the agenda, according to Al-Akhbar, was a meeting with Hezbollah’s leadership. The report does not specify which officials from the organisation took part or what topics were discussed.
Tzionis’s main mission in Beirut concerned bilateral relations between Cyprus and Lebanon, with an emphasis on the delimitation of maritime borders and the Exclusive Economic Zone, the Lebanese newspaper said.
The Cypriot official urged the Lebanese side not to backtrack on the agreement signed at the Lebanese Presidential Palace on November 26, 2025, the report said.
Nicosia’s intervention is linked to Turkey’s reactions to the Republic of Cyprus’s actions in maritime delimitation and natural gas transport routes, according to the report.
Tzionis told those he met with that this is a dispute between Nicosia and Ankara in which Lebanon has no reason to get involved, the report said. He also said there is no evidence to justify reviewing the agreement with the Republic of Cyprus.
Al-Akhbar places these developments in the context of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s recent visit to Turkey. According to the newspaper, Ankara opposes Lebanon’s participation in regional energy arrangements that bypass Syria or bring Beirut into frameworks it considers directed against it.
The KYP chief’s contacts also covered bilateral cooperation on electricity, telecoms and internet issues, the report concludes.
(Information from Cyprus News Agency)
