Cyprus, Israel and Greek foreign ministers highlighted the importance of their energy cooperation and its contribution to the stability in the region.
Cypriot Foreign Ministers Constantinos Kombos, Greece’s Nikos Dendias and Israel’s Eli Cohen met on Friday in Nicosia as a sign of the burgeoning alliance.
They prepared for the 9th tripartite summit to be hosted in Cyprus at the end of the year.
Special reference was made to the EastMed pipeline apart from discussions on Ukraine, Libya, the Mid East peace process, the terrorist attacks in Israel and the terrorist plot in Greece.
Kombos said the trilateral platform had evolved considerably since its inception.
He said the unprovoked and illegal Russian aggression in Ukraine is clear evidence of the world’s growing challenges.
“This is why the trilateral cooperation and the project–based synergies provide a much-needed platform for a rules-based code of conduct and effective diplomacy.
“Unlocking the full potential of our region will be a game changer…we strive to promote a reliable and sustainable energy corridor from the Eastern Mediterranean basin to Europe.”
He said the EuroAsia Interconnector and the EastMed Pipeline remain two significant strategic options “in our energy agenda”.
“We are confident that their materialisation will entail added practical and geostrategic value for the Eastern Mediterranean and the European Union.”
Dendias said that he outlined Greece’s goal to become an energy hub at home and the region’s gas and electricity supply.
He said that the Eastern Mediterranean played an important role as an alternative energy corridor and spoke about the East Med pipeline and its strategic importance in consolidating a regional security framework.
The Greek FM said the East Med Gas Forum provides an excellent example of how the participating countries use energy to catalyse peace and cooperation.
“In this respect, we are open to admitting new members such as Turkey, of course, under conditions of respect of the international law”.
They also talked about the situation in Turkey after the earthquakes and Greece’s solidarity and gesture based on humanitarian grounds in times of huge difficulties.
Dendias said that Greek-Turkish relations are entering a calm period, “but of course, things don’t change overnight”.
Eli Cohen said relations between the three countries are solid and growing even stronger.
He said this cooperation is important for Israel, and they want to promote it in other strategic and economic fields.
He said that the relations with other countries in the region also develop and could serve as another factor for promoting stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
He also said that he is grateful to Greece and its intelligence and security services for successfully preventing terrorist attacks in the country against Jewish interests.
