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Netanyahu, Pompeo meet with Cyprus president, Greek prime minister to talk energy

It is the sixth summit meeting between Israel, Cyprus and Greece.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem on Wednesday to discuss cooperation between the countries, including the upcoming East-Med pipeline connecting Israel and the European Union.

“This is the sixth summit meeting between Israel, Cyprus and Greece. We began this a few years ago, and it’s blossomed into one of the best regional associations in the world,” said Netanyahu.

“We cooperate in everything, from firefighting now to energy,” he Netanyhau. “We are planning to lay down a pipeline called the East-Med Pipeline, from Israel, through Cyprus, through Greece, to Europe, something that will benefit our economies greatly, provide stability for the region and prosperity to our peoples, but also we think would diversify the energy supplies to Europe.”

Netanyahu added that Pompeo’s participation “signifies the fact that the United States supports this regional effort, and it has many, many facets that we’re going to discuss. And I think that it says that this is something for the long haul.”

Pompeo met one-on-one with Netanyahu earlier on Wednesday, when they focused on the Iranian threat.

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