Foreign Minister N. Kotzias’ statement after the trilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Palestine (New York, Sept. 21, 2016)

Ν. ΚΟΤΖΙΑS: Today we had this great cooperation, the trilateral meeting between Palestine, Cyprus and Greece. We discussed about working together, the three of us, with regard to issues of political concern and decided to have our Political Directors meet to prepare ahead of the next Ministerial meeting in January 2017. The strategic situation in the region, new security structures as well cooperation in a number of sectors and fields, ranging from education and tourism to economic cooperation schemes for the benefit of our peoples, are on the agenda. We, moreover, talked about the need to have one common strategy for the overall enforcement of international law and rules, which the foreign policy of all three participants is based on.

REPORTER: What does the Palestinian side think of this initiative?

N. ΚΟΤΖΙΑS: The Palestinian side, I think, was very pleased since this is an initiative quite unlike traditional bilateral forums and it is now joining tripartite setups that have a positive impact on the positions of every participating member.

REPORTER: Have there been any objections on the part of Israel?

N. KΟΤΖΙΑS: Israel was not asked about it nor do we consult with third parties, just like we did not consult with others when we had the trilateral meeting with Israel. As a general rule, and let it be reiterated, such trilateral setups are not to the detriment of anyone whatsoever; they have a positive, not a negative, agenda, aimed at facilitating economic and social growth and fostering political cooperation between and among all.