Israeli, Greek, Cypriot defense ministers meet, reinforce security ties
Defense Minister Benny Gantz meets with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts to reinforce the countries’ security ties and strategic cooperation.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz traveled Nov. 12 to Nicosia and held strategic discussions on security matters with his counterparts from Greece and Cyprus. Meetings focused on developing and deepening security collaborations between the three countries, alongside examining regional challenges, officials said. Gantz also discussed Israeli arms sales with his counterparts.
Gantz tweeted after meeting with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and with his defense minister counterparts — Charalambos Petrides of Cyprus and Nikos Panagiotopoulos of Greece — "The alliance between Israel-Cyprus-Greece is stronger than ever. We will advance broad security cooperation that will strengthen our defense capabilities and create thousands of jobs in each of the three countries.’’
The meeting came two weeks after a similar trilateral meeting Oct. 27 in Athens of the country's foreign ministers, Israel's Gabi Ashkenazi, Greece's Nikos Dendias and Cyprus' Nikos Christodoulides. After the meeting, Ashkenazi said he considered regional cooperation to be “a central strategic component for ensuring peace, stability and economic prosperity.’’ He added, "I plan to personally act to promote economic cooperation between the countries to connect strategic infrastructure, like the electric grid … and the East-Med [pipeline] initiative.’’
In June, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Jerusalem for the fourth government-to-government meeting between Israel and Greece. After he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the two leaders signed three memorandums of understanding, on cyber issues, agriculture and tourism.
