Athens does not object to Turkey’s accession to Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas Forum (EMGF)“under the fundamental condition of respecting international law,” the Foreign Minister said yesterday Nikos Dendiaswho was in Nicosia for a tripartite meeting Greece, Israel And Republic of Cyprus, which was attended by his colleagues Eli Cohen and Konstantinos Kombos. The three ministers highlighted the element of energy cooperation between their countries, and also talked about the need to strengthen the 3 + 1 scheme with the participation of the United States. To this, in fact, Mr. Cohen said that before the trilateral meeting in Nicosia, he contacted the US Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken, with whom they agreed on the need to activate this scheme. It is worth noting that the repetition of the 3 + 1 format has been constantly postponed in recent years, although there are contacts of this format at the technocratic level. The three ministers agreed in principle that at the end of the year the trilateral leaders’ summit should be held again in Nicosia.

During his stay in Nicosia, Mr. Dendias was received by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis.

Athens does not object to the prospect of Turkey’s inclusion in the Southern Mediterranean Natural Gas Forum “subject to international law,” said Mr. Dendias.

In particular, after the trilateral meeting, Mr. Dendias said that he had informed his colleagues about the more positive climate that now reigns in Greek-Turkish relations, but stressed that he does not expect that “the situation will not change from day to day.” Mr. Dendias also mentioned the energy plans that are being gradually implemented and those that are being discussed (EuroAsia Interconnector and EastMed respectively), noting that the Eastern Mediterranean can become an alternative energy transport corridor for Europe. In addition, he stressed the need for an early elections in Libya, so that this neighboring country with Greece will return to normal life.

Mr. Cohen thanked Greece for its assistance in dismantling the group that planned the terrorist attack against Israeli targets in Athens, while stressing that this action could become a point of close cooperation between the three countries. In addition, he reaffirmed Israel’s position that normalization with other countries in the region (obviously, including Turkey) “will in no way be carried out at the expense of warm relations with Greece and Cyprus.” In fact, he noted that this attitude of his country is another factor in ensuring stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and maintaining good relations between sovereign states. On energy, Mr. Cohen mentioned the need to strengthen cooperation, “especially in the field of renewable energy,” as well as the strongest ties that are formed in the field of defense, either through joint exercises or through contracts for the supply of weapons systems that are signed .

Mr. Kombos, for his part, informed Mr. Dendias and Mr. Cohen about the campaign of Mr. Christodoulides to restart the Cyprus settlement procedures with a stronger role for the EU. “We are trying to promote a reliable and sustainable energy corridor from the Eastern Mediterranean basin to Europe. EuroAsia Interconnector and EastMed remain two important strategic options on our energy agenda. We are confident that their implementation will bring additional practical and geo-strategic value to the Eastern Mediterranean and the EU,” Mr. Combos said in particular.