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By Dr Andrestinos N. Papadopoulos, Ambassador a.h
Common interests and the recognition of the need to address the regional challenges so as to achieve stability, security and peace in the volatile region of the eastern Mediterranean led to the Tripartite Summit Conference (Egypt-Greece-Cyprus,) which was convened in Cairo on 8 November 2014. Moreover, the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits in our region served as a catalyst and incentive to strengthen regional cooperation. The result was the adoption of the “Cairo Declaration”, a particularly important document epitomising the initiatives undertaken by the three countries in various fields.
The “Cairo Declaration” adumbrates the general framework of the tripartite cooperation, the width of which was analysed by President Anastasiades at the joint press conference in Cairo. According to the Cypriot President, the tripartite cooperation is based on four pillars: in brief, first, political cooperation and diplomatic coordination; second, strengthening of projects in sectors such as that of energy, the economy, commerce, tourism, culture and shipping; third, the creation of a joint front to address the dangers that threaten our region; and, fourth, the tripartite cooperation should aim at becoming a model of constructive and beneficial regional cooperation.
As it is customary, in the Declaration are projected issues of interest to the parties. In particular, for Egypt, apart from the reference to the Palestinian issue, the Declaration stresses the determination of the parties to support the effort to the Egyptian people to achieve democracy and prosperity through the implementation of the road map, as well as its struggle against terrorism. Supporting this political course of Egypt, President Anastasiades emphasised that “the recent events in our region underline the need for stability in Egypt, because it is a country with great influence in the Arab world that can impact on the efforts to address the regional challenges.”
For Greece, the decision to expedite the negotiations to delineate its EEZ with Cyprus and Egypt strengthens its position on the issue which is vehemently opposed by Turkey. In such a case, Turkey will be excluded from the eastern Mediterranean. Finally, Cyprus is particularly satisfied by the fact that the Declaration “stressed the importance to respect Cyprus’ sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ and called on Turkey to end all of her on-going exploratory activities within Cyprus’ EEZ and avoid similar activities in the Future.” As a matter off fact, the actions of Turkey annoy not only the Republic of Cyprus, but also its neighbouring countries. A positive stand on the Cyprus problem was also included in the Declaration.
Of particular importance are, inter alia, two issues: the relations of the EU with the Arab world and the hydrocarbons of the eastern Mediterranean. On the first issue, as far as Egypt is concerned, the efforts by Greece and Cyprus to enhance and support the contacts between Egypt and the EU were recognised. Moreover, it was registered that Greece and Cyprus will act as Egypt’s ambassadors in the EU, in the belief that closer relations between Egypt and the EU will be to the benefit of our region. On the issue of hydrocarbons, the parties believe that hey can be a catalyst for regional cooperation which will be better served with dedication to international law.
Finally, it was emphatically stressed that the dialogue and cooperation among the three countries are not directed against any other country and that states of the region that share the vision of a peaceful, stable, secure and prospectus eastern Mediterranean are most welcome to participate in joint efforts.
As it was expected, Turkey reacted negatively to the adoption of the “Cairo Declaration” which might hinder Turkey’s plans to become the super power of the region. However, the dilemma exists whether it is in the interest of Turkey to undermine the regional cooperation which is expected to benefit economically the countries of the region. Things will certainly be worse for Turkey if a tripartite cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, which is in the offing, eventually materialises.
The conclusion is that Cyprus, either bilaterally or multilaterally, plays a stabilising role in the eastern Mediterranean, and in view of the developments mentioned above we believe that it is not premature to suggest the creation of an “Eastern Mediterranean Cooperation Council”.
We are encouraged to make this suggestion, as the framework created by the “Cairo Declaration” and the prevailing conditions in our region favour such a Council, which we trust is in natum nascendi.
