Israel, Cyprus and Greece are deepening their cooperation on a number of issues that affect the interests of the three countries, but also the security of themselves and the region at large. This could be a general headline for yesterday's tripartite meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers in Jerusalem between the three countries and Messrs. Lapid, Christodoulidis and Dendia. However, the details of what was discussed and what was added to the agenda as a result of the latest developments in Afghanistan and Lebanon are much more interesting.
The issue of the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan has been a major concern for the three foreign ministers, as in addition to the refugee chapter, which is a major concern in Nicosia and Athens, Israel has additional reasons to be concerned. The fear is that the dominance of the Taliban will set a precedent for other terrorist organizations in the region, starting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and will be a precedent in terms of the prospect of even de facto recognition of formations – derivatives of Islamist terrorism. Of course, this is something that is not only of concern to Israel, as Greece and Cyprus have acknowledged that no one remains unaffected by these developments.
Balances and USA
Mr. Lapid, Mr. Christodoulidis and Mr. Dendias also discussed the role played by countries such as Turkey in filling the balance of power gap left by the Americans' withdrawal from Afghanistan and their wider disengagement from the region. The developments and especially the possible increase of the Turkish influence in the wider area is something that concerns all three capitals, or better, it is something that all three do not see at all positively. It is recalled that Turkey was one of the first and only countries that distinguished “positive points”, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoλουlu, in the first statements of the Taliban. In this direction, the direction of filling the gap in the wider region, the three countries are launching a new meeting in October in Washington with the participation of the USA, in which, in essence, ways will be sought for Israel, Cyprus and Greece. take a more active role in the region that is also helpful to US interests, but at the same time ensures that there is no increase in the influence of others at the expense of a new axis of cooperation between, not only the three countries but also the Arab states. which develop partnerships with Israel and through it with the West.
With the UAE and Morocco
In this context, however, a new “4 + 1” meeting is being held, which will take place soon, possibly in Cyprus, and in which, in addition to the three countries and the United Arab Emirates, Morocco will also be invited to participate, which also shows willingness. following the success of Lapid's recent visit to the country, the first Israeli Foreign Minister in history. Israel, Cyprus and Greece also agreed that a new tripartite meeting would take place before the end of the year, but this time at the level of Heads of State.
More about the issue in the printed version of “P” and for the subscribers of POLITIS PREMIUM the digital version of the newspaper in PDF at the same time with its printed circulation daily from 05.00 in the morning.
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