Israel, Cyprus, Greece Sign Cooperation Agreement at Trilateral Summit in Jerusalem

Latest Developments

• Boost Trilateral Relations: The leaders of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel agreed to boost trilateral cooperation in the Mediterranean during a summit in Jerusalem on December 22. Against the background of growing Turkish belligerence in the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides signed a joint declaration agreeing to “reinforce our ongoing trilateral cooperation on security, defense, and military matters.” As part of the partnership, the three leaders discussed linking electrical grids through the world’s longest and deepest underwater electricity cable and cooperation on offshore natural gas.
• Eyeing Turkish Threats: All three countries have had troubled relations with Turkey, which formerly ruled all three territories through the Ottoman Empire. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to use military force against all three states. Ankara has also suspended trade with Israel in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, while openly supporting the terrorist group. During a joint press conference, Netanyahu stated: “To those who fantasize they can reestablish their empires and their dominion over our lands, I say: Forget it. It’s not going to happen. Don’t even think about it.”
• Discussions of a Joint Rapid Response Force: Greek media reported on December 16 that Israeli, Greek, and Cypriot officials were discussing creating a joint rapid reaction force to protect critical regional infrastructure in the Mediterranean. The plan reportedly would include the creation of a 2,500-strong brigade-level reaction force comprised of 1,000 troops from both Israel and Greece and 500 from Cyprus.

FDD Expert Response

“Trilateral cooperation between Cyprus, Greece, and Israel is to be welcomed as a counter to an expansionist Turkey. The fact that Greece is a NATO member is an important aspect of this. It cannot be long before the United States notices that Turkey is at odds with American allies and supportive of American adversaries like Maduro’s Venezuela, as well as of the hostile Muslim Brotherhood ideology.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow

“This trilateral meeting should be a wake-up call to Ankara, which has become far too accustomed to throwing its military weight around the region, without considering that its escalatory and threatening actions are bonding countries in the area in novel ways. This is not a threat but an opportunity for Turkey to reconsider its posture.” — Sinan Ciddi, Senior Fellow

“By bolstering the alliance with Greece and Cyprus, Israel is securing a regional security architecture for the Eastern Mediterranean. Defense partnerships are critical for Jerusalem as the threats to Israel’s security continue to evolve and its’s adversaries conspire to threaten the Jewish state.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

FDD Background and Analysis

“Turkish President Erdogan Claims Israel Is Biggest Threat to Syria,” FDD Flash Brief

“Eyeing Turkey, Israel and Greece Work To Deepen Defense Ties,” by Justin Leopold-Cohen and Ryan Brobst

“Hamas and Turkey: Partners in Terror,” by Jonathan Schanzer, Sinan Ciddi, and Melissa Sacks

“Eyeing Turkey, Greece Seeks Deal With Israel to Develop Iron Dome-like Air Defenses,” by Dmitriy Shapiro