Energy, regional cooperation the focus of Athens meeting

Cyprus, Greece, Egypt, and France face common challenges, but also share a common vision, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said Friday in Athens following the conclusion of a ministerial meeting.

During the joint statements with his counterparts, Christodoulides said the four countries shared the vision, of creating “conditions for peace, security, and cooperation in the region”, highlighting the strategic orientation of the cooperation.

He also stressed the importance of the four countries’ active participation in energy plans, which are under development in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as their willingness to participate in the effort to shape an “alternative energy corridor for Europe”.

During the meeting, the Cypriot foreign minister briefed his counterparts on Turkey’s actions, both in the fenced-off city of Famagusta and in the Cypriot EEZ.

Christodoulides said these actions form part of Turkey’s “revisionist policy in the region”.

He also informed his colleagues about developments in the Cyprus problem, stressing the need for “the international community to send the right messages for the resumption of negotiations on the basis of the agreed framework”.

At the same time, he reiterated that the quadrilateral cooperation between Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and France “does not have the character of a zero-sum game, nor does it aim to exclude any country”.

On his part, Greek Foreign Minister Nicos Dendias highlighted the common principles and values that shape the cooperation between Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, and France.

He underlined that this strategic cooperation is based on common principles, such as “respect for international law, the law of the sea, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the prohibition of the use of threats and use of force, as set out in the UN Charter, and the respect for the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all states”.

Of Turkey, he said that it “continues to threaten Greece with war and to violate our sovereignty and sovereign rights. To illegally occupy a territory of the Republic of Cyprus and violate the rights in its maritime zones. To harbour the Muslim Brotherhood. To instrumentalise immigration […]”.

He noted, however, that “today`s meeting is not an anti-Turkish meeting”, adding that Greece and all the countries of the region want good relations with Turkey.

Turkey is welcomed to participate in these multilateral cooperation schemes on a fundamental precondition; its adherence to the principles of international law, including the UN Charter and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Greek diplomat said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Shameh Shοukry highlighted the common values that unite the four countries.

“We reaffirmed the convergence of views between us on a number of regional and international issues,” Shoukry said, stressing that among them, “the full exploitation of our energy resources” is a common goal.

Shoukry also stressed that the goal of multilateral cooperation is to deepen relations between the four countries and promote prosperity and progress for their people.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the “3+1” format as a “scheme of trust”, underlining the convergence of the four countries` views on a number of complex and difficult issues.

He noted that the cooperation enables the four countries to act together and take initiatives in order to address common challenges and make good use of the huge potential of the eastern Mediterranean.