Israel to ink major energy deal with Cyprus and Greece
The plan involves linking the three countries' power grids via the world’s longest and deepest underwater electricity cable.
(September 4, 2023 / JNS)
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Israel is poised to finalize an energy deal with Greece and Cyprus which will include a mammoth electricity project connecting the power grids of the three countries, and a potential future regional natural gas pipeline between the eastern Mediterranean allies.
The expected accord comes amid burgeoning relations between Israel and both Cyprus and Greece in a variety of fields including energy, defense, tourism, high-tech and cybersecurity.
The international energy venture puts the eastern Mediterranean on the map as a key energy provider to Europe, as the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia fuel a global energy crisis that has hit the European Union hard, spotlighting the continent’s dependence on foreign energy.
“The partnership between our three countries becomes stronger with each passing year,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening in Nicosia at the start of a 24-hour visit which will include a trilateral summit meeting of the three countries’ leaders on Monday.
“Our strategic partnership and friendship is strong, and will solidify further,” said Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
The top-level government meeting in Cyprus on Monday is expected to be the final round of consultations between the leaders before a deal is formally announced.
Electricity and gas projects
The deal to link the three countries’ electrical grids, referred to as an “energy highway,” is expected to be inked first, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told JNS.
The 2,000-megawatt undersea cable will be the world’s longest and deepest underwater electricity cable, crossing the Mediterranean seabed bridging Asia and Europe.
Netanyahu said that in the coming months a decision will also be made on how best to cooperate in the field of natural gas as part of a deepening partnership founded on the discovery of substantial offshore natural gas deposits which, he said, can serve as an energy corridor to Europe and beyond, including Arab countries in the region.
Among the options being considered are a natural gas pipeline between the three countries, known as the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline or simply EastMed; a liquefaction plant in Cyprus; a floating liquefaction plant in Israeli waters, or, pending the geostrategic situation with Ankara, a natural gas pipeline to Turkey which could pass through Cyprus as well and which will be connected to Azerbaijani gas.
Turkey has long been a regional rival to Greece, while Israel’s relations with Ankara, which have improved of late, have been unsteady in the face of the volatile and intermittently hostile leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Feasibility studies on the proposed 1,900 kilometer (1,300 mile), $6 billion EastMed pipeline are still ongoing, amid doubts regarding its financial feasibility.
“There is politics and there is economics,” University of Nicosia professor Andreas Theophanous told JNS. “The EastMed is not viable for economic reasons but we must start from somewhere, and [also] see if Turkey will change its policies towards Cyprus and Israel.”
Summit delayed
The trilateral summit in Cyprus, which was originally scheduled to be held last month, was postponed until this week due to Netanyahu’s hospitalization for the implantation of a cardiac pacemaker. Cyprus and Israel will also hold a full government to government (G2G) minister’s meeting in Israel in the first quarter of next year, the leaders announced Sunday.
Turkey too?
In a sign of warming ties between Jerusalem and Ankara, the Israeli leader is also set to visit Turkey shortly, the first such visit in over a decade and a half.
In a further sign of a regional push to include Turkey in a future gas deal, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that he held separate talks with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, as well as with the U.S. envoy for regional normalizations efforts, following talks with the Greek and Cypriot energy ministers.
Regional firefighting force promoted
Netanyahu said that Israel was also supportive of a European decision to build a regional firefighting force and emergency center based in Cyprus, and suggested that the three countries also jointly consider purchasing a supertanker fire plane.
Israel assisted both Cyprus and Greece combat major wildfires this summer, and received warm words of praise and thanks from the Cypriot president for its sign of friendship.
“The climate isn’t going to get cooler, it’s only going to get hotter,” said Netanyahu.
Joint history
The Israeli premier went on to state that the countries’ newfound friendship over the past decade after years of cold relations, which he called an anomaly, was based on common values and a shared history. “Western civilization is a result of basically Greek culture and Judaism fused together,” he said.
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Iran and Turkey look to new regional strategy - analysis
While Iran and Turkey may not always see things the same way, they increasingly share interests.
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN - SEPTEMBER 4, 2023 16:23
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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in Iran this week on his first visit to the country. Turkey has amicable ties with Iran, but now both states want to pursue a new strategy.
Fidan welcomed the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Sunday, according to Riyadh-based, English-language newspaper Arab News.
The change in tactics by Iran and Turkey is significant because both countries have reconciled with Saudi Arabia. It used to be that Ankara and Riyadh maintained different views. Today, Turkey has moderated its stance on the Muslim Brotherhood, which allies of Saudi, including Egypt, categorize as a terrorist group.
In addition, Riyadh has welcomed Syria back to the Arab League. Although China brokered the Iran-Saudi deal, Riyadh also wants to move forward on key files with Iran and Turkey, including trade and reducing tensions in the region, ushering in a new era of Middle East diplomacy.
“During a press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Tehran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran is working on holding a tripartite economic meeting with Saudi Arabia and Turkey,” Arab News reported.
Fidan said: “The visit will render the opportunity to discuss the possibilities for further advancing our bilateral cooperation in all fields with Iran.”
A new Iranian ambassador is also heading to Saudi Arabia. The appointment of Alireza Enayati was announced in May, but he is only now taking up his post, according to reports in the Gulf and Iran. The veteran diplomat had served in Saudi Arabia in the past, as well as in Kuwait, and is an important cog in the overall trend in Saudi-Iran ties.
Turkey and Iran share regional policies
Regarding the context of the Turkey-Iran meeting, they share several policies in the region: Both view with suspicion the US role in Syria, and both want the Americans out. Recently, both used proxy forces in Syria to encourage Arab tribes to fight against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.
Turkey also has interests in Iraq, where Fidan visited recently. Iran currently occupies Iraq using militias, while Turkey holds its own forces in the north. Both Iran and Turkey have interests in the autonomous Kurdistan Region, with Iran being close to the Kurdish PUK party, while Turkey is close to the Kurdish KDP party.
While they may not always see things the same way, their shared interests only seem to increase. They also talk together more frequently than the US does with either Turkey or Iran.
Meanwhile, reports say the US is sending envoy Brett McGurk to Saudi Arabia, meaning many diplomatic moves are in motion in the region.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Bahrain this week as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to Cyprus. Every country is working on new diplomatic fronts, and Iran and Turkey are a key part of this new trend.
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The GOP’s Big 2024 Problem
A WSJ poll finds indictments are helping Trump in the Republican primaries, but not with all voters.
By The Editorial Board - Sept. 3, 2023
The latest Wall Street Journal poll is getting headlines for its news that support for Donald Trump nationwide is now up to 59% in the GOP primary race. But for our money the most important harbinger for 2024 is contained in the responses to another survey question.
The poll finds that in a 2024 general-election test President Biden and the former President are tied at 46%. Given Mr. Trump’s myriad legal problems, this shows how weak an incumbent Mr. Biden is. But a poll this far out from Election Day also doesn’t tell you much given how events can change.
The better insight comes when respondents were asked: “Do Donald Trump’s indictments make you more likely or less likely to vote for him, or have no impact on whether or not you would vote for Donald Trump?”
Among Republican primary voters, here are the responses: More likely to vote for Mr. Trump 48%; less likely 16%, and no effect on their vote 36%.
That result confirms what we’ve seen this year, which is that the indictments by Democratic prosecutors are helping Mr. Trump win the GOP’s presidential nod. The biggest jump in Mr. Trump’s support came after the first indictment for hush-money payments by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, and the other indictments changed that very little. This is exactly the result that Democrats want: Keep the focus on Mr. Trump so he wins the nomination, and then convict him in trials before the general election in November.
That strategy is reinforced by the responses when the WSJ survey asked registered voters the same question about the indictments. Their responses: 24% were more likely to vote for Mr. Trump, but 37% were less likely, and 35% said it would have no effect.
The Republican peril is that more than one-and-a-half times as many voters say the indictments make them less likely to vote for Mr. Trump than more likely. This reflects the tilt of independent voters, as well as the 16% of GOP voters who say the indictments make them less likely to vote for Mr. Trump.
These responses are before any of the coming four trials, three of which are already scheduled before the 2024 general election. An acquittal or hung jury could work in Mr. Trump’s favor, which is why the Democratic indictment strategy is high risk.
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