Greek FM thanks Israel for "its clear position on the issue of Turkey’s violations"

"Welcome to Israel, my dear friend, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias. It is always a great honor to host you in Jerusalem," Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi tweeted, welcoming Nikos Dendias to Israel.

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias was in Israel on Thursday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyaju and his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi.

During the separate meetings, Dendias said he "had the opportunity to thank the Israeli side for its clear position on the issue of Turkey’s violations of international legality in the Eastern Mediterranean."

"I made clear to my Israeli interlocutors that Turkey’s violations of international legality constitute a risk for all countries in the region and jeopardise security and stability," he added.

Apart from the Turkish violations in the eastern Mediterranean, the FM also had the opportunity to talk about energy security issues and the EastMed pipeline. The 1,900-kilometre EastMed pipeline, which has been in planning for several years, is intended to provide an alternative gas source for energy-hungry Europe, which is largely dependent on supplies from Russia and the Caucasus region.

"We also talked about the economic cooperation between our countries and the opportunities opening up both bilaterally and multilaterally between Greece, Israel, Cyprus, the United States, and other countries in the region," Dendias added.

"Thirty years after recognition by Konstantinos Mitsotakis and the establishment of full diplomatic relations, Greek-Israeli relations are better than ever before," the Greek minister concluded.

It is recalled Israel expressed its support and solidarity with Greece via multiple social media channels on Wednesday, amid tension in the Eastern Mediterranean between Greece and Turkey.

“Israel is closely monitoring the escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the Israeli embassy in Greece tweeted.

The statement continues, “Israel expresses its full support and solidarity with Greece, its maritime zones and the right to determine its EEZ.”

On his part, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Greek FM's visit "is one more expression of the great friendship between Israel and Greece. It was a long time coming but it is now expanding in every direction."

"The first direction is common geopolitical interests of two democracies in the eastern Mediterranean. Obviously, we view gravely any aggression by anyone, including Turkey, in the eastern Mediterranean. Secondly, we want to continue expanding our economic ties and of course our tourist ties and business ties. We will discuss this gladly and again I am glad to see that Greece is doing well," he concluded.