JERUSALEM (EJP)—Israel has absolutely no intention of harming joint Israeli-Cypriot interests, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades who fears that Israel’s improved relations with Turkey will come at the expense of relations with Cyprus.
He also said that Israel will do all that it can to coordinate policy with the Mediterranean island nation.
The meeting, planned late last week, had fueled speculation of sudden difficulties in the relationship between Israel and Cyprus as a result of the reconciliation agreement Israel and Turkey signed last month.
The Israeli and Cypriot leaders published a joint statement at the end of their meeting, saying that while there was some turbulence in the relations over the last few days, the disagreements have been worked out, and that everything is back to normal.
Israel’s relationship with both Cyprus and Greece has flowered in recent years, both as a result of the discovery of natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean and because of the steady deterioration of Israeli-Turkish ties since Recep Tayyip Erdogan first came to power in 2002.
Anastasiades hosted Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for a trilateral summit last January, and announced that another such meeting is scheduled for later in the year in Jerusalem “to continue the work we started in Nicosia.”
Referring twice to Netanyahu as his “dear friend,” Anastasiades said Israel and Cyprus were “reliable partners that see eye-to-eye on a wide agenda of issues ranging from energy to security, to a very sincere, open and frank political dialogue.”
He said that through continuous cooperation over a wide range of fields, the two countries have been able to form a “common language [that]enables us to stand by each other in these very challenging times as we are faced with so many attacks against our common rights.
As an indication of how the ties are growing, he pointed out that last week there were 80 flights from Israel to Nicosia.
The Cypriot President also expressed his appreciation to Israel for sending personnel and equipment last month to help put out a wildfire on the island.