Following the trilateral meeting that took place on October 29 in Nicosia, between the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Greece, Egypt and Cyprus, a joint communiqué was released by the three officials.
Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, Mr. Sameh Hassan Shoukry and Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides discussed issues of mutual interest, including recent developments on the Cyprus issue.
Read below the full communiqué
1. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, H.E. Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E. Mr. Sameh Hassan Shoukry and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus H.E. Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides, held a trilateral meeting today, 29 October 2014, in Nicosia. This is the third such meeting between Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the three countries.
2. One of the main purposes of the meeting was to prepare a Cyprus, Egypt and Greece trilateral meeting to take place at Heads of State/Government level on 8 November 2014 in Cairo.
3. Issues of mutual interest, including recent developments on the Cyprus issue, the political transition in Egypt, and the regional impact of the developments in the Middle East (Syria, Iraq, ISIL/extremism threat, Libya, Gaza, MEPP) were also discussed.
4. In expressing their deep concern at the proliferation of terrorism across the region, and in particular at ISIL`s advance, threatening even our immediate neighborhood, the three Ministers reiterated their commitment to cooperate on efforts by the international community to impede the flow of foreign fighters, control ISIL financing and expose ISIL’s true ideology.
5. The Ministers were particularly dismayed by the recent terrorist attack against a military checkpoint in the Sinai, which caused significant human loss. The serious incident highlights that terrorism is clearly a threat that transcends national boundaries.
6. The three sides reiterated their support to the Egyptian people’s quest for democracy and prosperity and the implementation of the road map, including its last phase, the holding of the upcoming parliamentary elections. They also highlighted the importance, in this process, of the fight against terrorism in Egypt.
7. They considered the progress of the current mechanism of trilateral political consultations and expressed the view that it could serve as a model for regional dialogue and cooperation, contributing to the consolidation of peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean; this trilateral mechanism, as a positive factor in the overall framework of the broader region, evidently is not to function opposite to any other country of the area.
8. They also agreed to expand the dialogue to other levels, including through close coordination and cooperation in the framework of multilateral fora, as well as on efforts to further promote relations between the EU and the Arab world.
9. The Ministers deplored the recent illegal actions perpetrated within Cyprus’s EEZ, as well as the unauthorized seismic operations being conducted therein. They underlined that any unilateral actions further undermine the stability and security of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East area.
10. They stressed the importance of the respect for the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the Republic of Cyprus over its EEZ and called on Turkey to cease all seismic survey operations underway within the maritime zones of Cyprus and refrain from similar activity in the future.
11. They also underlined their Governments’ commitment and respect to international law, including the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, to which all three countries are State-Parties. In this regard, they expressed the position that regional security, stability and prosperity for the benefit of the peoples of the region, is better served through the adherence of by all countries concerned to well established principles of international law.
12. The three Ministers reiterated their shared conviction that the discovery of important hydrocarbons reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean could and must serve as a catalyst for a broader cooperation on a regional level, contributing thus to the peace and stability in the region.
13. Finally, in highlighting the regional importance of cooperation on energy and the intensification of exploration activities in the eastern Mediterranean, they expressed their eagerness to jointly work on the protection of the marine environment of the Mediterranean Sea against pollution resulting from hydrocarbon operations.
14. Recognizing that tourism is a vital component of the economies of all three countries, they agreed to work closely together with a view to enhancing tourism cooperation including developing joint tourism packages and enhancing the maritime connection between the three countries. Joint tourism promotion, with the involvement of both state and private actors, could facilitate travel and tourism visits between and among their respective destinations as well as from foreign markets.
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