Cyprus, Greece and Israel will sign a joint cooperation declaration today at their 10th trilateral summit in Jerusalem, focusing on energy, innovation, defence and tourism.
Presidents Nikos Christodoulides and Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days before Cyprus assumes the European Union Council Presidency, with the “3+1” partnership including the United States high on the agenda.
The summit takes place against a backdrop of intense Turkish commentary on the defence cooperation between the three countries and the strengthening of Cyprus and Israel’s armaments through military programmes.
Nicosia denied reports suggesting the creation of a rapid response force with military forces from the three countries. Government and diplomatic sources emphasise the political significance of Cyprus-Greece-Israel cooperation, with US participation, noting the partnership ensures American government support.
186 weekly flights show relationship strength
“The goal of the trilateral summit is to create conditions of security and cooperation in the wider Middle East region,” Christodoulides said on Thursday, ahead of his visit to Israel.
Speaking at the presentation of Cyprus’s EU Council Presidency priorities in Lefkara, the president described the visit as “very important” and said bilateral meetings with the Israeli prime minister and president will address bilateral relations in energy, defence, innovation and tourism.
Christodoulides noted he was informed that “there are 186 flights per week from and to Israel”, adding that “this is indicative of the relations between the two countries”. He said several visitors to Lefkara that day came from Israel.
The agenda includes cybersecurity cooperation, tourism and energy collaboration, the Europe-Middle East-India corridor, and cooperation on emergency response.
EU projects, not just words
The president said the 10th trilateral meeting “through discussions aims, on the basis of a positive approach, to create conditions of security and cooperation in the wider Middle East region”.
He noted that with the summit taking place days before Cyprus assumes the EU Council Presidency, “during the Presidency an informal European Council will take place on 23 and 24 April, where specific projects will be presented—projects now and not just words and statements—of the European Union in relation to the region”.
“These are our goals through these trilateral cooperations with Israel, Egypt and other states of the region, so that we substantially strengthen the cooperation of the European Union with the wider Middle East region,” he said.
Ready for Cyprus talks
Christodoulides said he is fully ready to participate in a multilateral meeting on the Cyprus issue under the UN Secretary General, with specific ideas and proposals for achieving the resumption of negotiations.
Asked to comment on recent statements by Turkey’s defence minister, the president said a new effort has begun following Erhürman’s emergence as Turkish Cypriot leader.
“We genuinely hope that this new effort will lead to specific positive results, which is nothing other than the resumption of negotiations from where they stopped in 2017,” he said. “We know where we want to go. One is our goal: the liberation and reunification of our homeland, and we are doing everything possible towards this direction.”
Christodoulides expressed hope that the necessary conditions will be created from the Turkish side very soon to make the multilateral meeting feasible and lead to the resumption of negotiations.
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