Eastern Mediterranean security environment and the initiatives of Cyprus, Greece and Israel, were discussed on Tuesday in the "National Security Issues" section of the Israel-Hellenic Forum, taking place in Nicosia between 19-21 June. National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Greece, Dr Thanos Dokos, stressed that it is time to start thinking about connecting some of the cooperation initiatives and informal partnerships witnessed in the Eastern Mediterranean, into a broader scheme that is possible to include countries of the connected regions of Eastern Mediterranean, the Gulf and all the way down to the Indian Ocean. Thanos Dokos referred to the regional security environment of the Eastern Mediterranean indicating that revisionist tendencies of Turkey, the war in Ukraine and the impact on Western Balkans, malign influence of some countries like Russia, China, Iran, migration flows, terrorism, failed and fragile states, climate change, the concern that the US doesn't have a very clear and coherent strategy for this part of the world and that everything may change after the US presidential election of 2024, the lack of an effective Southern neighborhood EU policy and NATO focusing most exclusively to the East, sets the picture of 'almost a perfect storm that we are faced with in this part of the world.' Furthermore, he explained that 'we cannot manage those problems with a conventional toolbox' and that 'we need to change our toolbox and we need to improvise.' 'And of course our toolbox includes national instruments but also regional cooperation like the trilateral schemes. This is a very complex, volatile security environment' he added. Thanos Dokos stressed that 'we should start thinking about the big picture', noting that 'it is not just the Eastern Mediterranean any more, it is connected in multiple ways with the Gulf region even going all the way to the Indian Ocean.' Recalling that there is a number of informal partnerships, 'all those 3+1, all the trilaterals between Greece and Cyprus and other Middle Eastern countries, but also the I2U2 group, the Abraham accords' that are gradually, as he pointed out, change the regional scheme, he noted that 'maybe we should start thinking about connecting some of those initiatives.' 'We have a large region starting from the Eastern Mediterranean going all the way to the Indian Ocean where we have a core group of states with common interests. We may have differences in terms of political systems and even values in some cases but politics is a cynical business. And we do have common interests when it comes to containing malign influences, maintaining stability, promoting economic development' he said. 'Maybe it is time to start thinking about connecting some of those initiatives' he added, indicating that maybe 'instead of waiting for the Americans to come up with a plan and try to sell it or impose it, maybe we should change the order and come up with something that makes sense and try to convince the US but also the EU which is trying to make some steps in increasing its strategic autonomy in a way that is fully compatible with NATO.' 'I think maybe the time has come. We have energy interests but also other multiple issues where we could take the next step. And the ground is already fertile, we have been working with each other for more than 10 year, we have managed to deepen the relationship not only at the top political level but also at a more technocratic level between our militaries, intelligence, agencies, diplomats, energy specialists and so on. I think now we have enough depth and maybe we can start thinking about taking the next step' the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Greece concluded. Israeli National Security Advisor, Tzachi Hanegbi, referred to Tuesday's terrorist attack in Israel noting that 'it brings us again into the reality in Israel where we are challenged by terrorist acts and also we are engaging in the great vision of peace.' Tzachi Hanegbi recalled that he was 10 years old in 1967 when Israel was attacked by Egypt, Jordan, Syria, 'not knowing whether small Israel at the time can survive this attack' adding though that things have changed and now Israel can talk about building trust and cooperation with the countries that attacked it back in 1967 and 1973. He also said that Israel has now friends like Cyprus and Greece and that he understands how crucial this friendship is for the people of Cyprus and Greece and that Israel is proud to be part of this development. 'We talk about the future, we talk about energy, we talk about partners, Middle East, projects that 10 years ago we could not imagine' he added, underlining also the importance of the Eastmed gas pipeline project for the region's energy security. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus Kyriacos Kouros noted that Cyprus started to integrate security policies into a comprehensive security strategy since the last two terms of President Anastasiades' administration in which the current President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, was an influential member as a Government Spokesperson and later as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also recalled that soon after President Christodoulides was elected, he announced the establishment of a National Security Council and that a National Security Advisor is to be announced before the end of this year, a role performed in the meantime ex officio by the Head of the Cyprus Intelligence Service.
Source: Cyprus News Agency