Greek-Israeli strategic partnership is ‘rock-solid’

Relations between Greece and Israel “are taking off” and not slowing down, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in an exclusive interview with Kathimerini. Cohen was in Athens last week, in his first official visit to Greece.

The minister spoke of a big increase in tourist arrivals this year, noting that Israel rose to sixth place among the countries from which visitors come to Greece, while Israeli investments in tourism in the last decade rose more than a billion euros. Cohen also noted the business deals and investments in defense, and the prospect of even co-producing weapons systems.

He reiterated that an improvement in Israel’s relationship with Turkey will not affect his country’s cooperation with Greece, noting that the parallel channels of communication between Jerusalem and Ankara and Athens and Ankara strengthen regional stability.

Asked about the the EastMed pipeline – a project to transport natural gas from East Mediterranean gas fields to Italy and Central Europe via Greece – Cohen said it remains on the table but that its viability needs to be assessed by the business community. The foreign minister also mentioned energy cooperation with Cyprus, with which Israel is in talks for the development of regional natural gas infrastructure, which aims to transfer natural gas through Cyprus to Europe.

Greece and Israel are in the process of taking their very good relations a step further. What would you highlight as the top priority right now?

Israel and Greece have a strategic partnership characterized by a multidimensional cooperation in a wide variety of fields including defense, energy, tourism, trade, technology, innovation and culture. I would say that our aim would be to consolidate this partnership by deepening cooperation in all these fields. I would say we should pay particular attention to fields like energy, innovation and technology.

Israel and Greece also share similar views about regional challenges and opportunities and as such I would say that our common aim is to foster regional stability, security and prosperity. That is also the aim of our trilateral cooperation scheme with Cyprus and of our regional frameworks in the Mideast.

Numerous Israeli officials have stated that the improvement of the Turkish-Israeli relationship will not affect the dynamics of the Greek-Israeli relationship. Nonetheless we have noticed a certain slowdown in a few processes that connected and/or enhanced the synergies between our two countries, with the notable exception of defense. Do you see renewed bilateral cooperation, and if so, in which fields?

The strategic partnership between Greece and Israel and our trilateral cooperation with Cyprus is rock-solid and is not affected by external factors. Turkey is an important country in the region with which we would like to improve our ties but this will in no way affect our strong friendship with Greece.

I don’t agree with you that there has been a slowdown in processes or synergies that connect our two countries. Quite the opposite. We see a vast improvement of our relations in all fields. And it goes well beyond defense. In the last 10 years we have had massive Israeli investments, exceeding 1 billion dollars, in the Greek tourism industry. Israelis are one of Greece’s major tourism markets. There was a big increase compared to last summer’s scheduled flights from Israel this year. This season they amount to 953,000 seats, up from 584,000 in 2022. Based on demand, Israeli tourists rank as the sixth most important foreign market for Greek tourism, after the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands. Major businesses deals are taking place, like the recent one between Greek Grid Telecom and Israeli Tamares Telecom to build an undersea fiber-optic telecoms cable to connect Cyprus and Israel to Greece. Israeli companies have carried out investments in Greece like the investment of Tikun Olam in medical cannabis in Corinth. Other companies are interested in carrying out major investments in energy, including renewable energy in Greece. There is no slowdown. Our relations are taking off.

Could Israel function as a facilitator that would help improve the Greek-Turkish relationship in certain aspects?

‘Both Greece and Israel are now in a process of trying to improve relations with Turkey while strengthening their own ties’

Both Greece and Israel are now in a process of trying to improve relations with Turkey while strengthening their own ties. We both have direct channels of communication with Turkey but certainly our efforts to improve relations with Ankara will help foster better regional stability.

There are discussions for a pipeline connecting Israel to the Republic of Cyprus, to help export Israeli gas (LNG) towards Europe. At the same time there is the EuroAsia Interconnector. Can the energy links between the three countries become even closer than this? Do you see the possibility of a revival of the EastMed project?

Energy is one of the key components of our cooperation with both Cyprus and Greece. Recently the energy ministers of Israel, Israel Katz, and Cyprus, Giorgos Papanastasiou, engaged in active discussion about cooperation in the development of regional natural gas infrastructure, which aims to transfer natural gas through Cyprus to Europe, including from Israeli natural gas resources. In any scenario including EastMed, Greece will play a major role as it is a leader in transportation by tankers. We also support the EuroAsia Interconnector that will connect the electricity grids of Israel, Greece and Cyprus and we are glad to see that steps for the connections of Cyprus-Greece and Israel-Cyprus are materializing. Support for the EastMed pipeline is still on the table. But for a program like this you also need the business community. We will have to see the viability of this plan. And sustainability is under consideration. One limiting factor is the fact that Europe wants to move away from fossil fuels. So we have to wait for the viability assessment of the plan by the business community to be completed.

Greece has purchased from Israel some qualitative military edge (QME) weapons systems. At the same time Israeli companies have increased their share in the local defense ecosystem. Is there space for cooperation or even co-production of systems between Greece and Israel on Greek soil?

Defense is one of the pillars of Greek-Israeli relations. Our defense ties include a plethora of joint exercises, but also procurements. Our defense exercises contribute to our operational readiness, but also create synergies. Milestones in our ties include the agreement for the International Flight Training Center in Kalamata that will be operated by Israel’s Elbit Systems. Another major deal is the recent purchase of Intracom Defense (IDE) by Israel Aerospace Industries. The agreements and exercises prove that there is a growing intimacy in our defense relations. I certainly believe that there is space for further cooperation between our defense industries that might even include co-productions.

Israel has a long-standing opinion about the balances in the Middle East. Nonetheless the Abraham Accords created space for cooperation that didn’t exist before. As powers in the region seem to detach themselves from traditional ties with actors like the US (the example of Saudi Arabia and up to a point Turkey), how can Israel, whose protection of security is institutionalized by Washington, navigate in this new environment?

The Abraham Accords have ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity with Israel and Arab nations like the UAE and Bahrain. We have also achieved peace with Morocco and an initial agreement with Sudan. Those relations are an important supplement to the already existing peace with our neighbors in Egypt and Jordan. These agreements have been translated into increased trade tourism, defense cooperation and people-to-people contacts, undoubtedly bringing stability to the region. I’m very optimistic that we will be able to expand our relations with more Arab and Muslim countries.

However, we must also speak about the elephant in the room, which is none other than Iran. Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, its support for radicalism and terrorism in the Middle East have made it a major force of instability in the region and globally. It has even provided drones that are being used in the war in Ukraine. The only way to deal with this danger is for the international community to come together to put pressure on Iran. Israel is committed to preventing Iran from obtaining military nuclear capabilities by any means. The recent planned terror attacks orchestrated by Iran in Greece and Cyprus that fortunately were thwarted show the far-reaching sinister activities of the Iranian regime. Israel will not hesitate to do whatever it needs to defend and protect itself.

Does the rise of the far-right in Europe concern your government, in regard to the simultaneous rise of anti-Semitism?

The resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe is certainly a cause for concern for any Israeli government. As the nation-state of the Jewish people, Israel will always be on the frontline of combating anti-Semitism worldwide. We believe that it is our obligation. But it is not an Israeli issue. Countries in Europe should combat anti-Semitism and fascism because they are a threat to their democracies. I’m glad that Greece has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism and holds a number of Holocaust Remembrance events every year. I also believe the construction of the Holocaust Museum in Thessaloniki will contribute to promoting remembrance and democratic shared values.

In the last few years Israel has seen a very turbulent domestic political environment (five elections in three years and a very polarized atmosphere). Has it influenced Israeli foreign policy?

Israel currently has a very stable government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after several electoral contests. Prime Minister Netanyahu is a statesman with vast experience. As you know, Israel is a vibrant democracy. In spite of disagreements that may exist in Israel over policies, I believe that our democracy will emerge stronger.

Our foreign policy remains consistent and very clear. We will continue to deter negative players like Iran, which seeks our destruction and destabilizes our region. We will seek to continue expanding the circle of peace with our neighbors following the Abraham Accords and strengthening our relations with our allies like the United States, and our strategic partners like Greece and Cyprus.