An Israeli soldier sits at a table in the kibbutz of Ein Zivan in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, which most of the world considers occupied Syrian territory, on December 19. [Matias Delacroix/AP]
During a quick trip to Athens recently, Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen signed an agreement with his Greek counterpart Thodoros Skylakakis to strengthen energy cooperation and connectivity between the two countries. At various meetings in Athens, Cohen discussed with the CEOs of the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) and the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE), Konstantinos Xifaras and Manos Manousakis respectively, deeper energy cooperation in the field of natural gas supply to Greece and an electricity linkup in the framework of the Great Sea Interconnector project.
Shortly before his departure from Greece, Cohen granted Kathimerini an exclusive interview in which he underlined the excellent relations between Athens and Jerusalem, while underscoring the importance of the Great Sea Interconnector electricity cable that would connect Israel with Cyprus and Greece. He also stresses that Israel is ready to transfer to Greece the knowhow for its Iron Dome anti-missile shield.
The last time you spoke to Kathimerini, the war in Gaza had not started and you had described that relations between the two states had “taken off.” One and a half years later, how would you describe current relations between the two countries?
The relationship between the two countries is of strategic importance. I think that, in general, Israel is not only fighting for itself but fighting for the West against the Islamist radicals and their allies. It is worth mentioning that when I was the foreign minister, my Greek counterpart [Nikos Dendias] came to Israel to support us after October 7. We see a bright future between the two countries [Greece and Israel], and we will certainly focus on further strengthening our relations as we now face separate threats and challenges.
At your meeting with your counterpart, Thodoros Skylakakis, you signed an agreement to strengthen the strategic energy cooperation and connectivity between the two countries. From Israel’s point of view, what is the strategic importance of the Great Sea Interconnector and when do you expect to see the energy linkup to come on stream?
Well, energy, and electricity in particular, is vital for our lives and, therefore, the interconnection of the countries will actually help the two countries on a regular basis as well as in times of emergency and also will help to reduce the prices of energy, and electricity specifically, in the two countries. So, definitely, the Great Sea Interconnector project will contribute to the strengthening and prosperity of our people. As for the existing delays, I think that after a lot of discussions, we will do everything from our side to promote the electrical interconnection. Also, we are very lucky that we have some major gas discoveries and we are willing to export it to our friends like Cyprus and Greece. At the moment, we are exporting to our neighbors Jordan and Egypt, but we are willing to do the same with our friends in these two countries [Greece and Cyprus].
During your visit to Athens, you also discussed the strengthening of energy links and the transport of natural gas. However, the EastMed pipeline seems to be at a standstill, and for many its future is uncertain. What stage are the discussions on the pipeline at and how likely is its implementation?
At the moment, EastMed is still under economic evaluation and there is still a feasibility study that has not been completed. However, at present, it seems that the energy interconnection project via the electricity cable seems to be more likely and feasible to be implemented. You should know that we see Greece more broadly as our main strategic partner and we cooperate in many areas. So, my main objective is to strengthen and broaden our cooperation in the energy sector as well.
Do you expect US President-elect Donald Trump’s business mentality to contribute to the implementation of the two countries’ energy projects?
Trump is a great friend of Israel and I think that the implementation of our energy projects is in the global interest of the United States, Europe and Israel, as it achieves connectivity between Asia and Europe, and thus will increase the relationship between Israel and Greece. Therefore, I believe that the Trump administration can be very relevant to the energy goal that we have set.
At a time when your relationship with Turkey is going through a crisis due to the war and Ankara’s attitude toward Hamas, do you think that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s stance offers the possibility of strengthening Greek-Israeli relations?
Who is the one who is going with the methods of the Islamic Brotherhood? At the end of the day, [Erdogan] is bringing his country into a crisis. But regardless of our relations with Turkey at the moment, we assess our relationship with Greece, Cyprus and Europe as strategically important. So even when our relations with Turkey were warm, or at this moment when they are cold, we continue to work intensively and focus on working together for the benefit of our two peoples [Greece and Israel].
Greece intends to deploy an anti-missile shield along the lines of Israel’s Iron Dome. Do you consider it possible for the two countries to cooperate in the arms sector and in the transfer of your know-how to the Greek armed forces?
I am telling you the following: We are definitely willing to share our knowhow and capabilities, and the Greeks are our friends.