Eni sees return to good relations with Turkey over Cyprus dispute

MILAN, March 27 (Reuters) - Italian oil and gas giant Eni

Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni said Wednesday he is confident of a return to good relations with Turkey following a dispute about offshore gas exploration in Cyprus.

"There is a problem of territorial waters," Scaroni said. "We have obtained the authorization from Cyprus, which is part of the European Union and we are acting under EU legislation."

He added that there were issues regarding boundaries of territorial waters between Turkey and Cyprus.

"I think we can reach an agreement and return to our usual good relations," Scaroni said.

Earlier on Wednesday Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said the country had shelved its planned projects with Italy's Eni over the energy company's involvement in energy exploration in Cyprus.

(Reporting by Alberto Sisto, writing by Jennifer Clark, editing by Francesca Landini)

(([e-mail])([phone])(Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]))

Keywords: ENI CYPRUS/