Greece-Israel-Cyprus summit brought forward

This fall’s planned trilateral summit in Jerusalem between Greece, Cyprus and Israel at the foreign ministry level has been brought forward to September 13.

The meeting between Greece’s Nikos Kotzias, Cyprus’s Nikos Christodoulides and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who holds his government’s foreign affairs portfolio, will take place amid increased gas exploration activity in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkish plans to drill in the region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly made his intention clear that Turkey will not be left out of the new energy balance in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Ankara says the solution to the decades-old Cyprus problem hinges on the way natural gas reserves off the island’s coast will be exploited.

Meanwhile, the Medusa joint aeronautical exercise between Greece and Egypt is expected to begin in coming days south of the island of Crete.