Ambassador Israel: Greece is a very important player in regional diplomacy

The importance that Israel attaches to the tripartite cooperation with Greece and Cyprus, but also the strategic role of Greece in the region, was highlighted by the Israeli ambassador in Athens, Yossi Amrani. Speaking to reporters at the Israeli embassy today ahead of the 9th Greece-Israel-Cyprus tripartite summit in Jerusalem next Tuesday, Yossi Amrani stressed that despite the cancellation of all official visits to Israel for the next two weeks, three leaders will be held 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 between these two countries. And the tripartite is one of them,” he said.

At the same time, he maintained that Greece is a very important player in regional diplomacy and stressed that it can be the glue in bringing different countries to different forms of cooperation on different issues.

Focusing on the tripartite, the Israeli 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 acquaintance of the three leaders, after the elections in Israel, they will exchange views on the developments in the region, will examine the challenges faced by the three countries and the region and will explore ways for further better cooperation, he noted. . He added that the tripartite will 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 partnership can be developed. “Strategic cooperation does not only mean military, defense cooperation. It does not necessarily mean that a country is excluded or that a country is in the spotlight. It is not this idea. The idea is that our cooperation in various aspects can strengthen our country, maintaining “Our geostrategic relevance to the region and how we better address the challenges. There are many new opportunities,” he explained.

Further crystallizing Israel’s expectations from the forthcoming tripartite, he said that he would be successful if he helped to develop personal contact and relationship between the leaders of the three countries, if he gave the right message about strength, stability of the relationship and “reach a 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 to proceed “How to stabilize relations by building a dynamic for the future,” he said. “A successful tripartite will be the one that will consolidate the relationship between the three countries and build a dynamic for the future,” he added.

He did not fail to mention the importance of the Abrahamic Agreements, 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 for climate change, food security, as he explained.

Greece is Europe’s energy hub

In particular, the Israeli diplomat focused on the energy sector, underlining Egypt’s “very important role” in transporting gas from Israeli reservoirs from Egypt to Europe via Greece. He pointed out that these are 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 asked the question: can they wait until we get them? pipelines? More specifically, he stressed that this cooperation does not limit the importance of the EastMed pipeline and pointed out that Egypt will play a leading role in this field. “Egypt is becoming the energy hub in the Middle East and Greece will be the European hub for energy,” he said.

Referring to Turkey’s efforts to re-engage with countries in the region, the Israeli ambassador said that they are welcome, but stressed that they should be followed by specific changes in its policy, especially those related to “patronage, support for certain 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 underestimating this close cooperation. He even assessed that Turkey does not change the direction of its policy due to its economic situation, but acknowledged the importance of the economy in decision making.

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 countries in the region should 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 said the agreement is the best that could be reached and that the project is a direct contribution to Greece’s national security, giving it the tools to modernize its air capabilities.