The Foreign Ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Israel, Nikos Dendias, Nikos Christodoulides, and Yair Lapid respectively, met in Jerusalem last Friday and, in effect, declared publicly their countries shared values.
Mr Dendias expressed his concerns about what has played out recently in the broader region, stressing there “are extremely worrying developments”.
He then proceeded to contrast those developments to the shared values enunciated by his Israeli counterpart, Mr Lapid, who actively promotes peaceful coexistence, moderation, and prosperity in accordance with international law.
Mr Dendias noted that the recent developments in Afghanistan, namely, the Taliban’s triumph, and they consider Turkey a friendly country. Hamas also congratulated the Taliban. Hamas is the Gaza-based Islamic movement that also expressly denies Israel’s right to exist.
READ MORE:FM Dendias in Ankara: Important to avoid provocative actions that undermine relations
Despite all that, Turkey congratulates the Taliban on their victory. Understandable, the women of Afghanistan do not share that view. But we should remain hopeful that the Taliban’s broadcasted change of attitude towards women and girls is real but more importantly demonstrated.
Greece’s foreign minister thanked Israel for the steps taken that helped fight the wildfires that engulfed Greece earlier this month.
The full transcript of Mr Dendias’ remarks or statement is published by Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“It is such a great pleasure to be back in Jerusalem today. Last time I was here, in May, there were rockets being fired against Israel. I was the first European Minister to fly here to condemn those attacks and underline Israel’s right to defend itself…
And that brings me to the other major issue we addressed today, the extremely worrying developments in the wider region. You, Yair, have termed a phrase: “Circle of Life. … Religious fanaticism, terrorism, an “arc of fundamentalism” spanning from North Africa to the Eastern Mediterranean and going as far as … Afghanistan.
The Taliban consider Turkey an ally; they made a clear statement that Turkey is a friendly country. And Hamas, very close here, congratulated the Taliban. There are countries in our neighborhood that, contrary to what we believe is even in the interest of their own societies, try to revive old empires and, even worse, old understandings. Literally buried in the sand of the past…
READ MORE: Where do Afghanistan’s refugees go?
Thank you, dear Yair, for your kindness and hospitality. Thank you, dear Nikos, for the climate in our discussion.”
