The leaders of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus, meeting in Nicosia on Monday, agreed to deepen their alliance in the Eastern Mediterranean with a particular emphasis on energy and security.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu met in the context of the Trilateral Summit, the first since December 2021. It is also the first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is leading to a realignment of the EU’s energy priorities.
The three countries are poised to finalize an energy deal that will include a mammoth electricity project connecting their power grids, and a potential future regional natural gas pipeline between the eastern Mediterranean allies.
The 2,000-megawatt undersea cable will be the world’s longest and deepest underwater electricity cable, crossing the Mediterranean seabed and bridging Asia and Europe.
Partnership between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel “becomes stronger”
“The partnership between our three countries becomes stronger with each passing year,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening in Nicosia.
Christodoulides said that the three countries agree that given Russian aggression in Ukraine and the need for energy diversification “we should advance the numerous prospects of developing a reliable energy corridor between like-minded countries linking the Eastern Mediterranean basin to Europe.
“This concerns projects such as electrical interconnections, pipelines for gas, cleaner energy sources and LNG terminals,” the Cypriot President said.
Mitsotakis said that Greece, Cyprus, and Israel represent pillars of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and added that “the trilateral partnership has stood the test of time and has demonstrated its benefits on both political and economic levels, as well as in other areas.”
The Trilateral Summit was scheduled for last July but was postponed due to a health problem of the Israeli Prime Minister.
After the Summit a Joint Statement was issued.
Greece wants resumption of talks on the Cyprus issue
Earlier on Monday while welcoming Mitsotakis, President Christodoulides said that, among other things, the trilateral mechanism is part of the regional partnerships that demonstrate the role that Cyprus and Greece, as EU member states, can play in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Mitsotakis emphasized the significance of resuming talks to resolve the Cyprus problem in accordance with the United Nations’ resolutions.
“Greece will consistently support this stance,” Mitsotakis affirmed ahead of the 9th trilateral summit.
Mitsotakis noted that the upcoming months hold significance for Greek-Turkish relations, and he is cautiously optimistic about developments.
He also noted that in the coming days, the Greek Foreign Minister will visit Turkey for talks with his Turkish counterpart.
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