“There are countries in our neighborhood that, even in contrast to the interest of their societies, are trying to revive old empires and old perceptions,” Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said after the Greece-Cyprus-Israel tripartite meeting held in Jerusalem on Sunday.
“Literally buried in the sand of the past and they use a lot of tools. Military invasions in other countries, interference in other countries’ internal affairs. And, of course, sometimes they instrumentalize migration, which is completely unacceptable,” he added.
“Our common effort is that they should never succeed,” he said.
The FM noted that together counterparts Nikos Christodoulides and Yair Lapid, they examined “the extremely worrying developments in the broader region.”
“Religious fanaticism, terrorism, fundamentalism that extends from North Africa to the Eastern Mediterranean and reaches as far as Central Asia and Afghanistan,” he said.
“The Taliban consider Turkey an ally, they made a clear statement that Turkey is a friendly country. And Hamas congratulated the Taliban.”
“The best way to deal with today’s problems is with friends, building bridges of stability and prosperity for all, open to all willing countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Gulf and beyond,” he said.
The tripartite meeting focused on the ways of strengthening the cooperation of the three countries, starting with the civil protection. The aim was also to find new ways to institutionalize the involvement of strategic partners in the tripartite plan.
The meeting was a ‘positive momentum in the trilateral partnership,’ the ministry said.