The Foreign Ministry will not reveal the contents of proposals it has made to Libya and Italy to resolve the long-standing dispute over oil exploration in disputed areas.

Foreign Minister Minister Tonio Borg last week spoke of the proposals intended to reach an agreement on joint oil exploration between the three countries during the one-day visit of Libyan Foreign Minister Mousa Kousa.

However, Dr Borg would only say the issues involved were "complex" when asked by The Times for the details of the proposals. He did not say whether the government would present the proposals in Parliament.

"The Government communicated to Libya and Italy a set of proposals which, however, depend not only on Libya's availability to the idea but also on Italy. This remains a difficult task. If we manage to close the issue with Libya, we can insist on a compromise with Italy or vice versa," Dr Borg said.

He added that Malta and Libya felt the option to go to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should be a last resort.

Malta is seeking to resolve the matter by opting for joint oil exploration agreements.

Although the minister did not identify the disputed area, it is widely understood he was referring to the Medina Bank, which lies just within Malta's international boundary with Libya to the southeast. The boundary was delineated by the ICJ in 1985.

However, the ICJ limited its judgment to a tiny stretch of sea to the south of Malta, covering the width of the Maltese islands. Italy had requested to be a party in that case since it claimed to have an interest in the matter.

The decision effectively meant the boundaries to Malta's west and east were not delineated and the Italians, as much as the Libyans, harbour an interest in the zone, which is believed to contain good oil prospects.