Israeli officials ready to discuss Mediterranean pipeline with Turkey: report

Israeli officials have said that they are ready to discuss the building of a gas pipeline with Turkey, Israeli broadcaster Kann’s diplomatic correspondent Amichai Stein said Monday.

Stein said in a tweet that Israel officials say they "are open to negotiate the Turkish proposal to build gas pipeline from Israeli reservoirs through Turkey to Europe ‘if the Turks are serious, but stress that it will not replace the gas pipeline with Greece-Cyprus-Italy, but in addition."

“Negotiations between Israel and Turkey were conducted on the issue between 2015-2017 which examined the possibility of building a gas pipeline to Europe from the reservoirs in Israel, which will pass through Turkey,” he said.

The Jerusalem Post recently reported that the Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli chargé d’affaires Roey Gilad to warn him that Israeli plans to build a gas pipeline in the Eastern Mediterranean jointly with Greece, Italy and the Greek Cypriot administration would require Turkey’s approval.
In 2017, the energy ministers of Israel, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, and the Italian ambassador to Greek Cyprus signed a memorandum of understanding in Nicosia on the pipeline plans in the presence of EU Climate Action Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete.
The long-term project, which has an estimated cost of 5.8 billion euros, has been criticized by Turkey as ignoring the sovereign rights of the Turkish Cypriots living on the northern part of the island of Cyprus. Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials have called for the inclusion of all parties and the fair sharing of resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.