Deputy PM and FM Venizelos’ statements following the trilateral Political Consultations on the level of Secretaries General of the FM of Greece, Israel and Cyprus

E. VENIZELOS: As I had the opportunity to set out before the National Council on Foreign Policy and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defense and Foreign Affairs, we have here, today, at the Foreign Ministry, a trilateral meeting of the Secretaries General of the Foreign Ministries of Greece, Cyprus and Israel.

I received the three Secretaries General, who are now preparing the meeting on the Ministerial level, which we have decided to host at the soonest possible time, here in Athens, so that we can prepare for the Summit Meeting, along the lines of the Cairo Summit.

The issues are well known. We are dealing with all of the pending regional crises, stability in the region, matters concerning the implementation of the Law of the Sea, and issues of regional stability and security, which are the most critical of all, because the region’s peoples want security, they want prosperity. And when we have wars and terrorist actions and threats, in the end this strikes not only at day-to-day life, but also at the prospect for growth, which all of the countries of the region need.

JOURNALIST: When you say, “at the soonest possible time,” within the month?

E. VENIZELOS: No, I don’t know whether we will be able to do it within the month, but …

JOURNALIST: By the end of the year?

E. VENIZELOS: That’s not out of the question, yes, by the end of the year.
 mfa.gr
12/11/14 
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• PRESS RELEASE - Political Consultations between Greece and Israel and Trilateral Political Consultations between Greece, Israel and Cyprus (Athens, 12 November 2014)

 
«Political consultations at the level of Secretaries General of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Israel were held in Athens on 12 November 2014 between Secretary General, Ambassador Anastassis Mitsialis, and his counterpart Director General, Ambassador Nissim Ben Shitrit.

The two sides reviewed progress achieved in their bilateral relations in various fields of cooperation since the 1st High Level Cooperation Council of 8 October 2013 and discussed the preparation of a second G-2-G to be held in Athens in 2015, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Greece and Israel. They confirmed their willingness to further enhance their rapidly growing economic relations to reflect the excellent level of bilateral political relations. It was therefore agreed that acceleration of cooperation should be promoted in fields such as trade, tourism, industrial research and development, water technologies, environmental protection and agriculture. Greece and Israel also confirmed their common interest in pursuing cooperation in the crucial field of energy.

The two sides also discussed their cooperation in multilateral fora and exchanged views on regional and international issues including developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, as well as the terrorist threat at regional and global level.

Ambassador A. Mitsialis and Ambassador N. Ben Shitrit were subsequently joined by their Cypriot counterpart, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, Ambassador Alexandros Zenon, for a session of trilateral political consultations. The three sides agreed to further promote trilateral political consultations and expand dialogue to all levels, with a view to contributing to the consolidation of regional peace, stability, security and prosperity. They confirmed their willingness to promote their economic relations and to strengthen their cooperation in the field of energy, including by building on the trilateral Memorandum of Understanding signed in Nicosia on 8 August 2013 by the Ministers of Energy of Greece, Israel and Cyprus.

The three sides discussed regional and international issues in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, expressed concern for illegal actions and provocations in the sea waters of the Eastern Mediterranean in violation of international law and expressed concern for the proliferation of terrorism at regional and global level.

The three sides agreed that they should meet on a regular basis to further discuss these issues and enhance their cooperation. In this respect the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic, Mr Evangelos Venizelos, invited the Foreign Minister of the State of Israel, Mr Avigdor Lieberman and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Ioannis Kasoulides, to a trilateral meeting to be held in Athens in the next few weeks».
http://www.mfa.gr/en/current-affairs/news-announcements/press-release-political-consultations-between-greece-and-israel-and-trilateral-political-consultations-between-greece-israel-and-cyprus-athens-12-november-2014.html
12/11/14