Press Releases

It is a great honour and pleasure to welcome you today in Nicosia for this Trilateral meeting. This is our first Trilateral meeting since we have all assumed office and the 9^th Trilateral meeting in the eight years from the inception of this very important regional platform.

This is without a doubt a dynamic strategic alliance between partners of democratic values, with shared objectives, and which invest in a joint vision of stability, prosperity, and security in our region and beyond.

During our discussions, we reviewed the progress achieved in multiple areas of cooperation, which have been developing all these years. We reaffirmed our aim to intensify collaborations in fields such as energy, security, defense, economy, as well as academia and our diasporas. I left emergency response last but certainly not least.  Over the summer, we showed the strength and immediacy of our friendship.  We once again joined forces on the field, battling raging fires and helped each other, in no time, and with all our means. We are grateful to have had the Greek and Israeli teams by our side in such difficult moments.   

Moving on to the energy sector, we agreed that natural gas and renewable energy is a prime pillar of cooperation in the region, especially in light of the recent geopolitical developments and energy insecurity, especially in Europe, dictating the need for energy diversification and increased interconnectivity.

We reaffirmed our strong commitment to the 3+1 format with the United States and agreed on the value of intensifying 3+1 cooperation, with concrete deliverables also with other countries and we talked specifically about India.

We also discussed ways to tap in the momentum achieved by the groundbreaking Abraham Accords and identified opportunities arising from regional multilateral platforms, which hold vast potential for expanding rules - based regional integration.

Moreover, I had the chance to brief Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Prime Minister Netanyahu on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue and on my initiatives and efforts to break the deadlock in the negotiations for a comprehensive settlement in line with the agreed UN framework. I also thanked the two Prime Ministers for their unwavering support.

Today, we also reiterated that at our partnership is not exclusive or directed against any other country. On the contrary, it is open to other like-minded parties in our resolute effort to create and advance synergies, based on common values, to the benefit of our countries and peoples, as well as of our region.

Today’s meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on ongoing regional challenges and to reaffirm the value of our continuous coordination in effectively addressing a multiplicity of threats, including antisemitism, and the scourge of terrorism.

We obviously referred to the recent terrorist attacks in Israel, which we denounce in the strongest possible terms. Benjamin, you have our unwavering solidarity. 

Finally, we agreed that we will continue our trilateral coordination and that the next trilateral Summit will take place next year, in either Israel or Greece.

Once again, it was a privilege to have you in Nicosia today.

(RM/EP/SCH)