Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el–Sisi met in Athens, Greece, on October 19 where they pledged to boost strategic cooperation, including energy.
“We welcomed the signing of the agreement for the establishment of a trilateral electricity interconnector between the grids of Egypt, Cyprus and Greece,” the leaders said in a joint declaration following the 9th Trilateral Cooperation and Coordination Summit among the three countries. “This project strengthens our economic cooperation and enhances the security of energy supply, not only of the countries involved, but also of Europe, as it will create a highway for the transmission of significant amounts of electricity to and from the Eastern Mediterranean. The Electricity Interconnector project, which connects the electricity grids of our countries, constitutes an important component of the strategy to accelerate the development of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Corridor, providing an alternative source of energy supply from the region to the European Continent and vice versa,” the declaration read.
Greece, Cyprus and Egypt expressed their desire to continue strengthening their cooperation, through a series of agreements, on the exploration and transportation of natural gas. “We remain convinced that the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves can serve as a catalyst for regional stability and prosperity. In this regard, we once again welcomed the adoption of the statute of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF),” the leaders said in their joint declaration. They noted that the establishment of EMGF is based on the fundamental principle of respect of the Members’ rights over their natural resources, in accordance with international law. EMGF will support the Members’ efforts in unlocking the full gas resource potential in the region and monetizing their reserves in accordance with international maritime law and in particular UNCLOS. “We reiterated that the EMGF as a regional organization based in Cairo is open to all countries that share the same values and objectives of the EMGF and willingness to cooperate for the security of the whole region and the welfare of its peoples,” Mitsotakis, Anastasiades and el-Sisi said.
The three leaders underlined the importance of the respect of the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all states in their maritime zones in accordance with international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). “In this context, we condemned the illegal drilling and seismic operations by Turkish vessels in Cyprus EEZ/continental shelf, in maritime areas already delimited in accordance with international law. We also reiterated our condemnation of the continuous violations of Greek national airspace and territorial waters in the Aegean Sea and all other illegal activities in areas falling within Greece’s continental shelf, in contravention of international law. Hence, we called on Turkey to abstain, in a consistent and sincere manner, from provocations and unilateral actions in breach of international law, including from harassment of survey vessels duly licensed by Greece or Cyprus, thus helping to create conditions conducive to dialogue,” the three leaders said, stressing that productive and result-oriented dialogue cannot be conducted in an aggressive environment or under the threat of the use of force.
Mitsotakis, Anastasiades and el-Sisi also discussed the Cyprus issue and reaffirmed their strong support to a just, comprehensive and viable settlement in line with the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions that call for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with a single sovereignty, a single international personality and a single citizenship as well as in accordance with the EU acquis, values and principles.
