by Mara Vigevani
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman met with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts in Athens on Tuesday (Nov. 7) to discuss strengthening ties on a broad range of common threats and promoting security in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“The cooperation between the countries, which began in 2009, is growing in a wide range of fields. Greece, Cyprus, and Israel share common values as democratic countries and face similar security challenges.
“The cooperation is intensifying every day on many levels, based on the understanding that we must take our fate into our own hands ” Liberman said following the first-ever trilateral defense summit between the countries.
“The path we embarked on today will prove particularly beneficial for our three countries and will highlight the fact that threats and tension have no place in this region today,” said Cypriot Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides.
“Cyprus, Greece and Israel defend in this volatile and fragile region not just their common interests, but also the interests of Europe and, I would say, those of the international community in general,” he added.
In an earlier, separate meeting with Liberman, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said: “We are building a more optimistic future for the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, a region whose security is at stake by a multitude of crises and threats, many of which overcome the concept of a state entity and can be dealt with only with the significant cooperation at regional and international level.”
Liberman is due to meet Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias before returning to Israel this Wednesday.