Against the backdrop of the "oblivious" Turkish-Lobby agreement signed by Cyprus and Greece, Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet with leaders of both countries in January • Memorandum of understanding between the parties was signed in 2017

• Netanyahu with Cyprus and Greece's leaders and secretary of state, March 2019 // Photo: Oren Ben Hakon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held telephone conversations last weekend with Cyprus President Anastasiadis and Greek Prime Minister Mitzotakis. PM Netanyahu concluded talks on a trilateral leadership summit, during which the "East-Med" gas pipeline agreement is expected to be signed from Israel through Cyprus and Greece to Europe.

The meeting is held next to the Jerusalem Summit, which was held with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last March. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Energy Steinitz are expected to fly to Greece at the beginning of January for the summit of leaders, which will be held for the seventh time.

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This is an intergovernmental agreement that goes further to the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2017 and after a preliminary feasibility study was conducted. The agreement will enshrine the states commitment to the project. Israel's signature is in the process of legal approval.

The government ministries, led by the Ministry of Energy and the Prime Minister's Office, have been promoting the project in recent years, which will contribute to Europe's energy security and to the prosperity of Israel and the Mediterranean.

Turkey recently signed a controversial agreement with Libya, which outlines the border between the two countries in the Mediterranean. The agreement ignores the existence of Cyprus and the economic rights of Cyprus and Greece in the Mediterranean, and in fact transfers a large part of these rights to Turkey