The Foreign Ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Israel stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation on energy, following their meeting in Nicosia on Friday.
In his statement, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos referred to the three countries’ energy cooperation and its importance for regional stability, especially after the war in Ukraine.
Reaffirming the close relations with the other two countries, Mr Kombos said he informed his counterparts about the Cyprus problem and the initiative by President Christoforos Christodoulides to involve the E.U. further in negotiations.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias underlined the cooperation and the long and unbreakable relations between the three countries. He said that he had informed his counterparts of the improvement in relations with Turkey in the aftermath of the earthquakes, but that there was no expectation of overnight change.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also noted the three countries’ close relations and thanked Greece for its help in thwarting a terrorist attack against Jewish targets in Greece. On energy, he said the three countries could play an important role in the region. He added that his country supported the 3+1 mechanism with the participation of the U.S. and said that he had spoken to his U.S. counterpart to set up a meeting in the framework of the mechanism.
During their meeting, the Foreign Ministers also made preparations for the trilateral meeting between the leaders of the three countries.
This meeting will take place in Nicosia at the end of the year.