The Athens Summit today between Israel, Greece and Cyprus promotes the signing of a joint ambitious venture to build a 1,900-kilometer-long, underwater natural gas pipeline, east of the Mediterranean via Cyprus and Greece to Europe for energy starvation.

The estimated cost of constructing the world's longest-running gas pipeline is about $ 7 billion, and it is set to take seven years. In the short term, the signing is largely a response to Turkey's moves in the Mediterranean.

Turkey signed an agreement with the Libyan government last month on setting the boundaries of Mediterranean economic zones. The agreement effectively divides the Mediterranean between the two countries irrespective of the claims of Greece and its islands, and allegedly gives Turkey rights in the maritime area where the pipeline should pass. Turkey has also invited Israel to hold talks on the matter.

Turkey is also helping the Libyan government, which controls a small part of its country, against the opposing forces led by Khalifa Heffer, who control most of its territory. Ankara is bullying Cyprus' economic zone and forcibly smuggling ships into gas reservoirs. For several years Turkey has been expanding its navy to support its ambitious goals in the Mediterranean and beyond.

It is true that Israel did, who objected to the Turkish-Lobby agreement, and ignored the Turkish invitation to come and discuss the gas pipeline. Against this background, the proper answer is the organization of a group of countries with similar interests.

The writer is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)