- Title: Israel, Greece and Cyprus join forces to battle fires
- Date: 8th December 2016
- Summary: JERUSALEM (DECEMBER 8, 2016) (REUTERS) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, CYPRIOT PRESIDENT, NICOS ANASTASIADES, AND GREEK PRIME MINISTER, ALEXIS TSIPRAS WALKING INTO ROOM NETANYAHU, ANASTASIADES AND TSIPRAS STANDING FOR PHOTOS NETANYAHU, ANASTASIADES AND TSIPRAS TAKING SEATS MOBILE PHONE SCREEN SHOWING NETANYAHU, ANASTASIADES AND TSIPRAS VARIOUS OF NETANYAHU, TSIPRAS AND ANASTASIADES SIGNING TRILATERAL AGREEMENTS NETANYAHU WALKING UP TO PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING: "This is a meeting of genuine friendship. There are shared values between us, we are three democracies in the eastern Mediterranean. We have come to the conclusion quite a few years ago that we have so much to gain by cooperating with each other and we are doing that, point of fact, including with the new agreement we signed today but throughout the years." NETANYAHU SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING: "We are dealing also with matters of economy, with R&D, energy, that's a very big topic. We have gas fields, we have joint interest. We know we want to explore the development of these gas fields and the provision of the gas to the European markets. This is something that occupies our time and our attention, I hope we can move forward on that." NETANYAHU WALKING AWAY FROM PODIUM, SHAKING HANDS WITH TSIPRAS AND ANASTASIADES, ANASTASIADES WALKING TO PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) CYPRIOT PRESIDENT, NICOS ANASTASIADES, SAYING: "We are sending a clear and loud message that Cyprus, Israel and Greece stand together in facing natural disasters and other challenges concerning emergency situations." NETANYAHU AND TSIPRAS LISTENING ANASTASIADES WALKING AWAY FROM PODIUM, SHAKING HANDS WITH NETANYAHU TSIPRAS ADDRESSING JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) GREEK PRIME MINISTER, ALEXIS TSIPRAS, SAYING: "Of course let us not forget the Middle East process, the urgent need for the re-start of immediate and reliable talks on the Middle East, which will lead to a solution of peaceful coexistence of the two states, which refers to the right of the Israeli people, the Israeli state, to live with security, and the right of the Palestinians for a viable state." THREE LEADERS SHAKING HANDS, WALKING OUT OF ROOM
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2016 14:05
- Keywords: Israel Greece Cyprus Benjamin Netanyahu Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades
- Location: JERUSALEM
- City: JERUSALEM
- Country: Israel
- Reuters ID: LVA0015C0WLDZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades met in Jerusalem on Thursday (December 8) to strengthen ties and sign agreements to cooperate in various fields.
The agreements include the formation of a joint force to deal with fires and earth quakes as well as cooperation in science, education, technology and energy.
The three leaders held their first trilateral meeting in Nicosia this year and said they will continue to meet to strengthen relations between the countries.
In November, Greece and Cyprus sent fire-fighting teams and airplanes to help Israeli rescue teams battle wild fires across the country.
In his statement in Jerusalem, Greek Prime Minister Tsipras called for talks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The last, U.S.-backed talks between Israel and the Palestinians ended in failure in April 2014 and the outgoing U.S. administration appears unwilling to tackle the issue before President-elect Donald Trump takes over in January. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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