However, scientists think this interbreeding could have occurred outside Europe, in the eastern Mediterranean or Middle East region (the area archaeologists call the "Levant"), and quite probably even deeper in time - some 80, 000-90, 000 years or so ago.

BBC: Last-stand Neanderthals queried

And I promised President Obama the renewed intention of Italy to provide not only the necessary resources and women and men for these tasks, but also the knowledge and expertise that Italy may have, as regards particularly some countries in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region, due to geographic and historical links.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama��s Bilateral Meeting with Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy | The White House

Cyprus is one of a handful of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean with a firm claim on one of the largest natural gas finds in the region, offering access to an estimated 50 to 60 tcf of gas and 1.7 billion barrels of crude in waters off its southeastern coast.

FORBES: Can Natural Gas Save Cyprus?