Roundup: Israel-Greece-Cyprus summit addresses common interests, concerns
Xinhua · china.org.cn | 2021-12-08 23:01
Roundup: Israel-Greece-Cyprus summit addresses common interests, concerns

JERUSALEM, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The eighth trilateral summit between leaders of Israel, Greece and Cyprus, which was held in Jerusalem on Tuesday, addressed issues from geopolitics to emerging cooperation for the three countries in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Tuesday before the three leaders held a press conference.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met with the two visiting leaders.

The three countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector, focusing on renewable energy, and reaffirmed their commitment to the EuroAsia interconnector project which connects Israeli, Greek and Cypriot power grids and is supposed to be completed in 2023.

Bennett said the three countries, combined by geographical proximity, share in both interests, such as tourism and energy, and concerns such as climate change, terrorism and security.

Nimrod Goren, head of the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, told Xinhua that "an alliance" has been forged between the three sides.

"Throughout the years, the relations got stronger and the sides actively tried to add more and more elements," said Goren.

Toby Greene, a political science scholar at Bar Ilan University, said he believes the trilateral relationship is important for Israel because Israel needs to find more friends in the region as the United States is withdrawing from the Middle East.

Moreover, the close ties between the three countries, all having a rough relationship with Turkey, will create pressure on Ankara, despite the fact that none of the three has admitted it.

For Israel, solid relations with EU member states such as Greece and Cyprus are important. The European Union is often critical of Israel and especially its policies toward Palestine.

"This is a diplomatic asset to Israel," said Greene. Enditem

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