Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias arrived in Israel on Thursday morning. He was greeted by Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
— גבי אשכנזי – Gabi Ashkenazi (@Gabi_Ashkenazi) August 13, 2020
“Welcome to Israel my good friend,” Ashkenazi wrote on his Twitter page. “It is always a great honor to host you here in Jerusalem.”The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared photographs of the foreign ministers meeting and wrote that it shows the countries “share strong ties & a growing strategic partnership.”
FM @NikosDendias cordially welcomed by #Israel FM @Gabi_Ashkenazi at @IsraelMFA – & share strong ties & a growing strategic partnership / Υποδοχή ΥΠΕΞ Ν.Δένδια από ομόλογο Ισραήλ G.Ashkenazi -ισχυροί δεσμοί & μία διαρκώς ενισχυόμενη στρατηγική εταιρική σχέση μεταξύ & pic.twitter.com/9qyLzA7mEh— Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) August 13, 2020
Dendias’s purpose for his visit is twofold, first of which is to settle travel agreements between Israel and Greece amid the coronavirus pandemic. Transportation Ministry director-general Ofer Malka included Greece in its list of countries submitted to the Health Ministry which Israelis may return from without isolating the usually-required 14 days.Dendias and Ashkenazi originally spoke on the subject over the phone on Wednesday to discuss the option of Israelis being permitted to do the same in the opposite direction: that is to say, that they may be permitted to enter and leave Greece without quarantining.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had spoken with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier in the summer regarding the opening of borders between the two countries, but the decision was put up as Israel entered its second wave of coronavirus and consequently delayed the original deadline of August 1.In a Wednesday report by The Jerusalem Post, Ashkenazi was found to be “optimistic” and “hopeful” that Greece and Israel would reach a deal on the subject.The second subject on the table for Dendias’s visit, one that is gathering much traction in international affairs, is the current standoff between Greece and Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean. Israel expressed its open support for Greece on the matter on Wednesday.The Foreign Ministry had said, “Israel expresses its full support and solidarity with Greece in its maritime zones and its right to delimit its EEZ [exclusive economic zone].”Soon afterwards, Dendias met with Israeli Ambassador to Greece Yossi Amrani and told him that he would be coming to Israel to meet with Ashkenazi and to discuss the matter.Turkey and Greece are regularly in conflict due to their competition over gas reserves in the east Mediterranean. No distinct border has been drawn in the region and their self-defined properties overlap significantly.Turkey, in the past week, sent naval ships into the region so as to allegedly protect a research mission. However, the ships entered Greece’s EEZ.Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman, Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.
Source
Jesus Christ is King
Comments are closed.