US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s attendance at the sixth summit meeting between Israel, Greece and Cyprus in Jerusalem on March 20 has added a new and troubling dimension to the already tense ties between Ankara and Washington. Turkish officials construed the Jerusalem summit as an anti-Turkish gathering and are displeased with Washington's support for Turkey’s principal rivals in the eastern Mediterranean.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, however, warmly welcomed the backing the summit received from Washington.