The importance that Israel attaches to the tripartite cooperation with Greece and Cyprus, as well as Greece's strategic role in the region, was highlighted by the Israeli ambassador in Athens, Yossi Amrani.
In today's press briefing at the Israeli embassy ahead of the 9th tripartite Greece-Israel-Cyprus meeting in Jerusalem next Tuesday 7.12.2021, Yossi Amrani emphasized that despite the cancellation of all official visits that have been imposed to Israel for the next two weeks, the meeting the one between the three leaders will take place following a personal decision by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. "And I think this is a very clear indication of the importance that the Prime Minister of Israel attaches to the relationship with these two countries. And the tripartite is one such" he emphasized characteristically.
At the same time, he announced that Greece is a very important player in regional diplomacy and emphasized that it can be the glue in bringing different countries to different forms of cooperation on different issues.
Focusing on the tripartite, Israel's ambassador to Greece pointed out that it will be a special opportunity for the three leaders to meet, develop a personal relationship and contact and discuss issues of mutual interest. It is the first personal meeting of all three leaders, after the elections in Israel, there will be an exchange of views on the developments in the region, the challenges faced by the three countries and the region will be examined and ways for further better cooperation will be explored, he noted. . He added that the tripartite will also be an excellent opportunity for the three leaders to discuss other issues, assess the value and importance of their relationship, and exchange ideas on where and how they believe their strategic cooperation can be developed. "Strategic cooperation does not mean only military, defense cooperation. It does not necessarily mean that a country is excluded or that a country is targeted. That's not the idea. The idea is that our cooperation in various aspects can strengthen our country, maintaining our geostrategic relevance in the region and how we better face the challenges. There are many new opportunities," he explained.
Further crystallizing Israel's expectations from the upcoming tripartite, he said that it will be successful if it contributes to the development of personal contact and relationship between the leaders of the three countries, if it sends the right message about the strength, stability of the relationship and "ends up in a a certain road map, a certain understanding of how we are going to go about creating a certain amount of exchange between our two countries. We have the political aspect, the political cooperation, we have the military cooperation, we have some elements of economic cooperation. We have to think about how we will move forward, how we will stabilize relations by building a dynamic for the future" he pointed out. "A successful tripartite will be the one that will consolidate the relationship between the three countries and build a momentum for the future" he additionally underlined.
He did not fail to mention the importance of the Abraham Accords, considering that it is a development that creates many opportunities for all three countries. In this context, he said that the diplomatic cooperation of all three countries with the United Arab Emirates can help us define an agenda, a cooperation program on climate change, food security, as he explained.
Greece is the energy hub of Europe
In particular, the Israeli diplomat focused on the energy sector, underlining Egypt's "very important role" in transporting natural gas from Israel's reservoirs, from Egypt to Europe via Greece. It is, as he pointed out, some very important developments in the strategic cooperation between Greece and Israel in recent years and highlighted the contribution of energy to the defense and security of the two countries.
Regarding the cooperation between Egypt and Israel for the liquefaction of natural gas and its export to Europe, he said that there are specific energy needs, noted that it is an intermediate solution and raised the question: can they wait until we have the pipelines? More specifically, he emphasized that this cooperation does not limit the importance of the EastMed pipeline and pointed out that Egypt is a leading player in this field. "Egypt is becoming the energy hub in the Middle East and Greece will be the European hub for energy," he announced.
Referring to Turkey's efforts to re-approach with countries in the region, the Israeli ambassador said that they are welcome, emphasizing, however, that they must be followed by specific changes in its policy, especially those concerning "patronage, support to specific Islamic elements and policies/ their terrorist acts in areas controlled by Israel," he said.
In addition, he noted that the Greece-Cyprus-Israel relationship is very strong and added that "we are not playing a zero-sum game", that "we can be friends with Turkey and have close cooperation with Greece", without anyone underestimating this close cooperation. He even estimated that Turkey does not change the direction of its policy due to its economic situation, recognizing, however, the importance of the economy in decision-making.
When asked about the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Moscow, he said that Russia is a country with a history in the region and all states in the region must take it into account.
Regarding the agreement between Athens and Jerusalem for the creation of an international aviation training center in Kalamata, Yossi Amrani informed that the project continues and stated that he believes in it. He stated that the agreement is the best that could be achieved and this project is a direct contribution to the national security of Greece, giving it tools to modernize its aerial capabilities.