The leaders of Israel, Cyprus and Greece said Tuesday they are determined to push ahead with plans for a pipeline that would supply east Mediterranean gas to Europe as the continent seeks to diversify its supplies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the East Med pipeline a "very serious endeavor" that was important for Europe, which is looking for new sources of energy.
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the three countries aim to sign an agreement this year to nudge the pipeline project forward.
"This project creates a rivaled network of common interests and clear strategic benefit for our countries and beyond since its implementation will tangibly contribute to the security of the European Union's energy supply," Anastasiades said.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the project "emblematic" of the cooperation between the three countries.
The EU is looking favorably on the project, too, since the 28-member bloc has forked out €34.5 million ($41 million) to fund a technical study, the Cypriot president said.
The pipeline is estimated to cost over €6 billion ($7 billion) and would take six to seven years to build. It will stretch from Israel to Italy and pass through Cyprus and Greece. Among the pipeline's advantages, officials say, is that it would not have to cross many national borders and will be less vulnerable to sabotage than it would be if it passes through Turkey.
The pipeline would potentially carry gas from recently discovered deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, including in the waters of Cyprus and Israel.
The project was the centerpiece of Tuesday's tripartite meeting between the leaders, their fourth since Jan. 2016 when they agreed to hold such gatherings to strengthen ties. The leaders also discussed the connection of the Israeli power grid to Europe.
"We are building a great alliance, an alliance of good among our three democracies," Netanyahu said. "You have to look only a few years back and it's almost inconceivable that our countries did not have this warm, intimate and direct contact."
One of the current disadvantages of Israel's energy sector is its isolation.
In Europe, countries that create a surplus of energy are able to sell that surplus to their neighbors for a profit and when national energy resources are scarce, they have the ability to purchase them from neighboring countries.
Israel is therefore currently not using its resources to their full potential as there is no framework in place to allow for the transfer of its surplus natural gas to other countries.
Noting Israel possesses far more natural gas than it requires, Netanyahu said the pipeline would put "a lot of money" in the state coffers. He said the deal to lay the pipeline would be signed within the year and work on the project was expected to be completed in five years' time.
These discussions were followed by a meeting of the countries' ministers, where Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, Science and Technology Minister Ophir Akunis and Communications Minister Ayoub Kara represented Israel vis-à-vis their Greek and Cypriot counterparts.
After the expanded meeting, Israeli and Cypriot officials were set to sign a public security cooperation agreement to allow both countries' relevant authorities to maintain contacts on the fight against organized crime, and a film co-production agreement that will aid the Israeli film industry by recognizing Israeli-Cypriot co-productions as eligible for Israeli government financial support.
Israel, Cyprus and Greece were expected to sign a trilateral agreement for the prevention and treatment of maritime pollution, as well as a memorandum of understating aimed at fostering cooperation in laying fiber optic cables.
Touching on the threat to Israel from Iran, Netanyahu accused the Shiite country on Tuesday of deploying "very dangerous weapons" in Syria as part of a campaign to threaten Israel.
Iran "openly calls, daily, for the destruction, the elimination of Israel from the face of the earth and practices unmitigated aggression against us," Netanyahu told reporters during a visit to Cyprus.
"It is now seeking to plant very dangerous weapons in Syria … for the specific purpose of our destruction."
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