Greece-Israel-Cyprus Relations: Ripe for Expansion? – Dr. George Voskopoulos

• Relations with Greece and Cyprus provide Israel with allied neighbors and bring Israel closer to Europe in terms of security, trade, and energy.
• Israel, Greece, and Cyprus are the only working democracies in a region of undemocratic, semi-democratic, and failing states. This is a powerful motivating factor for cooperation.
• Israeli-Greek relations have advanced to a degree where the militaries’ air forces and navies are conducting joint operations and joint maneuvers.
• Israel expressed deep gratitude to both countries for sending fire-fighting aircraft when widespread fires hit Israel in November 2016.
• Greece, Israel, and Cyprus have decided to formalize their proposal for the construction of a pipeline from gas fields off the coast of Israel. The three democratic countries can guarantee in the long-term a secure means of delivery in an effort to minimize Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.

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George Voskopoulos, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of European Studies at the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece, and the former head of the department.