PM: EastMed is ‘culmination’ of Greece, Cyprus, Israel cooperation in energy

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hailed the plan to sign an agreement later on Thursday for the building of the eastern Mediterranean natural gas pipeline, as he welcomed Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Athens.

The deal will be signed in a ceremony in Athens by the respective ministers of each country, in the presence of Greek and Israeli Premiers Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Benjamin Netanyahu, and Anastasiades.

“We welcome the President of the Republic of Cyprus, especially on such an important day when Greece, Cyprus and Israel will sign the agreement on the East Med pipeline, a very important energy project that is the culmination of a trilateral cooperation in energy and more,” he said welcoming his first guest, Nicos Anastasiades.

Responding to Mitsotakis, the Cypriot president described the event as “historic,” adding that it “lays the groundwork for the actual pursuit … of cooperation and not rivalry in the Middle East, especially with regard to energy issues or anything that might connect the states of the region.”

He said talks with Greece and Israel lay the foundations “for further, and even stronger cooperation” with countries of the Middle East.

The pipeline will run across the Mediterranean from Israel’s Levantine Basin offshore gas reserves to the Greek island of Crete and the Greek mainland, and then to Italy.