Israeli president reassures Cyprus over alliance
Israeli President Isaac Herzog traveled yesterday to Nicosia, trying to reassure his hosts that recent rapprochement with Ankara won’t come at the expense of the Israeli-Cypriot-Greek alliance.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog traveled yesterday to Nicosia, for a one-day visit. Meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades, Herzog reportedly tried reassuring him over recent attempts by Israel for rapprochement with Turkey, including a trip by Herzog to Ankara scheduled for later this month.
Upon arrival to Nicosia, Herzog tweeted, “Beginning an official visit this morning in Cyprus, our close neighbor, to reaffirm our special relationship. Thank you, President Anastasiades, for your true friendship. Pleased to discuss strategic issues with you. The Israel-Cyprus relationship is an anchor of stability in the Med.”
At their meeting, Herzog told Anastasiades, “Nothing in my visit [to Turkey] and what would ensue will be on the account of this strategic relationship with your country.” Herzog continued that Israel seeks to strengthen its ties and pursue dialogue with all neighboring countries and all faiths, including Turkey that he called “a very important neighbor of ours, which has a huge impact on our lives in many fields. We have to … if possible to lower the tension and move on in a true dialogue that would definitely include issues of climate and the economy,” Herzog noted.
On Feb. 24, Herzog traveled to Athens, in a similar attempt to reassure Greek leadership over attempts to warm up ties with Turkey. Herzog met there with his counterpart Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Greek opposition leader and former premier Alexis Tsipras.
