Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening energy cooperation following trilateral talks held Monday at the Presidential Palace.
“We agreed that the energy sector, in particular natural gas, electricity and renewable energy, is a solid foundation for cooperation in the region, based on international law, including the law of the sea and respect by all states for the right to exercise their rights in their respective exclusive economic zones. (EEZ) and on the continental shelf”, – the joint statement following the results of the 9th trilateral summit says.
Speaking at a press conference, Christodoulides called him “a clearly dynamic strategic alliance between partners who share democratic values, share common goals and invest in a shared vision of stability, prosperity and security in our region and beyond.”
He added: “In light of the growing need for diversification and interconnectedness of energy resources driven by geopolitical developments, we reaffirmed our shared interest in advancing the prospects for a secure energy corridor from the Eastern Mediterranean Basin to Europe”.
Christodoulidis, Netanyahu and Mitsotakis discussed the importance of moving forward with projects such as the Eurasian Interconnector and possible future natural gas and hydrogen pipelines.
In his speech at a press conference, the Israeli leader confirmed his country’s interest in participating in the EuroAsia submarine power transmission line project. “As for the electric cable … Both Israel and Cyprus are islands. Crete, which is part of Greece, is also an island, Netanyahu said. – At present, an electric communication line is being organized between mainland Greece, Crete and Cyprus. We would like it to be connected obviously to Israel and possibly to the east of Israel so that we can optimize the use of electricity. We are very interested in this. And we discussed the mechanism of how this can be done.”
Netanyahu has expressed a sense of urgency about Israel’s plans to export its natural gas to Europe, either via a pipeline to Cyprus or an LNG plant here, or both.
“With regard to gas, we are discussing the possibility that in the near future we will have to make a decision on how Israel will export its gas, and Cyprus should make the same decisions. And we are considering the possibility of cooperation in this matter, these decisions will be made , I think, in the next three to six months – perhaps closer to three months.”
According to a joint statement, the heads of the three states also stressed the value of the 3+1 format with the United States, “which can offer tangible results in the fields of energy, economics, climate action, emergency preparedness and counterterrorism.” An agreement was reached to work together to hold a ministerial meeting in the 3+1 format later this year.”
At the same time, Netanyahu announced plans to expand the “3 + 1” format outside the United States and possibly connect India to it. “There is something else that can develop, and we discussed it in great detail”the Israeli leader commented.
“Now there is a possibility of expanding the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. All three countries see this as a great opportunity, but they also see that it can lead to the establishment of ties between India, the Arabian Peninsula, Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Europe. There is natural… geographic connection, but it can also be something that will result in multiple benefits for our peoples and our countries.”
The possibility of inviting the Prime Minister of India to the next trilateral meeting was discussed.
At the same time, Christodoulides stated that they confirmed “strong commitment to the 3+1 format with the United States and agreed on the value of intensifying 3+1 cooperation with concrete results also with other countries, and spoke specifically about India.”
In addition, due to the recent devastating forest fires in Greece, the leaders of the three countries reaffirmed their mutual readiness to assist each other in emergency response, including the use of artificial intelligence systems for early detection of fires.
Mitsotakis and Netanyahu also briefed Christodoulidis on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue and welcomed his initiative to include a stronger role EU in efforts to resume negotiations.
Finally, Christodoulides, Netanyahu and Mitsotakis agreed that the next tripartite summit would take place next spring in either Greece or Israel.
Strong ties have been established between the three countries over the years, and Netanyahu noted that one of the most direct examples of economic ties is food. “We love your food”he interrupted when Mitsotakis had finished speaking. “We like your dairy products. We like your yogurt.” Netanyahu said authorities would soon “open up” the country’s dairy market, which is currently protecting local production with high import duties. “We intend to open the dairy market for Greeks, Cypriots and other countries very soon”.
PS Now we are waiting for the reaction of Turkey, which will definitely intervene in this topic …
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