Israel, Greece and Cyprus Advance Talks on Gas Pipeline to Europe

The proposed pipeline would run from Israel to Cyprus and on to Greece.

SEATTLE (Oil Monster):  The leaders of Israel, Greece and Cyprus on Wednesday discussed a proposed joint project for a natural gas pipeline to western Europe. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

The proposed pipeline would run from Israel to Cyprus and on to Greece. The three also discussed a new date for a summit, possibly in May. This was recently postponed amid regional tensions. Turkey is at odds with Israel over Gaza and Cyprus over offshore drilling.

The relations between Israel and Greece and Cyprus have been growing closer in the past few years, especially in security and energy fields, although some of the cooperation among them has been kept quiet due to the political tensions in the region.

Israel and Cyprus have large gas reserves in their territorial waters and a desire to export it to Europe, together with Cyprus’ close ally, Greece, whose location is a strategic transit stop.

After years of overtures, Israel signed a memorandum of understanding in December with Cyprus, Greece and Italy to advance the project, estimated at tens of billions of shekels. Israel reported some of the largest gas finds in the past decade and Cyprus has confirmed a discovery, making them both potential exporters.

The relations between Israel and Greece have been upgraded recently, mainly due to security and economic considerations, first and foremost the gas resources. The countries have been holding joint military drills and, according to foreign reports, Greece has been softening its position on the Palestinian issue in international bodies.

Courtesy: www.haaretz.com