E. VENIZELOS: This is the third Trilateral Meeting between Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. This trilateral configuration has now acquired substantial content. The upcoming Trilateral Summit Meeting, which will be taking place in a few days, in Cairo, sends a message of political upgrading of this cooperation. I am truly pleased because today we had an extremely substantial and productive discussion regarding both the trilateral cooperation and the situation in the region, given that all three countries share the same concerns and have a strong common desire to play a stabilizing role.
What is the usefulness of this cooperation? It is cooperation between Egypt, the key country in all the developments, the positive developments, in the region, due to its size, its history and the ability it has to exert a great deal of influence in the wider Arab world. And two countries, Greece and Cyprus, members of the European Union and the Eurozone, that are Mediterranean countries, that are countries very close to the crisis region, very close to the European Union’s southern neighbourhood. To form a triangle with added value, not just for ourselves, for the three countries, but for the European Union and Mediterranean cooperation in general.
We are in a position to understand and acknowledge Egypt’s decisive role in and contribution to all the issues, and we are also able to convey to the European Union information that is based on knowledge on the ground, and not on stereotypes. There is a very strong and solid foundation for this cooperation: international legality, international law, the International Law of the Sea. As my two colleagues said, this Trilateral cooperation is in no way negative or hostile in nature, against any other neighbour. In fact, we want everyone to be inspired by the same spirit of consensus, cooperation and respect for international legality.
Of course, the current state of affairs is very difficult, because right now a very specific Turkish provocation has arisen in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Republic of Cyprus. So we have a violation of the International Law of the Sea under way; a violation that must cease as fast as possible, because this protects the stability of a region that is turbulent and rife with tensions. This will facilitate the return to the talks between the two communities in Cyprus and Turkey’s return to its European perspective. This is of great importance for Turkey itself as well as for regional stability.
But apart from the major issues of an international political nature, there are the economic dimensions of cooperation. We signed today’s text on tourism cooperation. We had an in-depth discussion of energy policy, and we talked in depth about issues that concern the implementation of the International Law of the Sea. I think it was an excellent opportunity for us to update one another regarding the developments in the region and to prepare initiatives and stances we will set out in critical international fora, always with the aim, as I said at the outset, of assisting in overcoming of crises, restoring stability, protecting peace and avoiding escalation, to the benefit of all the peoples and nations of the region.
I thank my counterpart from the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Kasoulides, for the exceptional hospitality, and my Egyptian colleague, Mr. Shoukry, for the substantial talks we had.”
October 29, 2014