Greece, the Greek Cypriot Administration and Israel agreed on Monday to strengthen military and security cooperation, as their leaders reaffirmed a long-standing trilateral partnership during talks in Jerusalem.
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mistotakis and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underlined: "We agreed today to deepen our cooperation in security and defense."
Arguing that the trilateral alliance does not specifically target any country in the region, he said: "Look, we're not seeking confrontation with anyone. On the contrary, we seek stability, prosperity, and peace."
"We hope that our coalition won't be tested," Netanyahu added.
Speaking to reporters, Mitsotakis said: "This is the 10th trilateral meeting of our countries, and this shows the depth of our cooperation that has been tested by time and has proven resilient."
Highlighting the growing military cooperation between the three parties, perhaps clearest in skyrocketing Israeli arms sales to Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration, Mitsotakis said their tech sector cooperation should be further improved.
"Our cooperation has yielded tangible results and will continue to do so in the future, we look forward to strengthening the trilateral partnership," Mitsotakis said.
Christodoulides, for his part, also underlined growing cooperation in defense, security, tourism, and energy.
There are no limits to the prospects for cooperation between the three countries, he added.
Israel has emerged as a major arms supplier for both Athens and the Greek Cypriot administration, providing various types of advanced missiles, drones, and electronic warfare systems.
The Israel army also often uses the soil of the two countries for training and exercises.
Increasing Israeli influence in Greek Cyprus has also made uneasy the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which sits on the northern one-third of the divided island and has expressed concern several times over growing defense and security ties between the pair.
Officials have also criticized joint military exercises, intelligence sharing and the lifting of U.S. arms restrictions for the Greek Cypriot side as moves that could destabilize the region.
Türkiye as guarantor state to the TRNC has said it is closely monitoring Greek Cypriot-Israeli rapprochement and warned it would not allow security threats to emerge on the divided island.
Cyprus is divided into two between the Turkish Cypriots, whose state is recognized by Türkiye, and the Greek Cypriot administration, recognized by other countries.
The two sides' efforts to find a compromise on the island have so far failed, and the TRNC advocates a solution on the status of the island that fully recognizes the Turkish Cypriot state's sovereignty.
