Peres Thanks Greek President for Stopping Gaza-bound Flotilla
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Visiting Greek President Karolos Papoulias met on Monday with Israeli leaders, as long-frosty relations between the two Mediterranean nations reach new heights of cooperation.
Papoulias' three-day trip, which will also take him briefly to the Palestinian territories, comes a week after Athens effectively prevented a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists from reaching Gaza and breaching Israel's naval blockade of strip.
"I thank you for not allowing these people, who were interested in disturbing the order and breaking international law, from sailing uninspected to Gaza," Israeli President Shimon Peres told Papoulias as the two met, according to a statement from his office.
Peres and Papoulias are both elder statesmen with largely ceremonial posts.
Papoulias was also to hold talks later the same day with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman as well as opposition leader Tzipi Livni.
"We are pursuing a strong relationship, strong on trade, strong on investment, strong on political and security cooperation," Papoulias told the Jerusalem Post in an interview ahead of his visit.
Greece, traditionally a strong ally of the Arab world, has moved closer to Israel in the past two years on the back of a chill in relations between Israel and Greece's arch-rival Turkey.
Israel and Turkey saw their once-strong alliance hit the rocks after a raid by Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turkish activists on a flotilla of aid ships trying to breach the Gaza Strip blockade in 2010.
A second flotilla failed to sail for Gaza waters this month after Greece refused to give the ships permission to set sail and coast guard vessels with commandos on board intercepted those who tried to make a run for Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Papoulias did not deny the improved relations were partly a result of the situation with Turkey.
"In diplomacy there are always connections, influencing factors, objective and subjective criteria, changing geopolitical and geoeconomic factors that shape relationships," he told the Jerusalem Post.
Ties have also been boosted in the wake of the economic crisis affecting Greece, which has sought new investors, and Israel's discovery of promising gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean.
Chief among the fields is the Leviathan cache, believed to hold 16 trillion cubic feet (450 billion cubic meters) of reserves, and Greece hopes to position itself as a potential conduit of gas to the European continent.
"The discovery of major reserves off the coast of Cyprus and Israel changes the geoeconomic situation in the region. It opens up new opportunities for cooperation between Greece, Israel and Cyprus," Papoulias told the Post.
Papoulias is also to meet Greek Orthodox religious leaders in the Holy Land and travel to Ramallah in the West Bank on Tuesday for meetings with Palestinian officials.
11 July 2011, 22:50
10
Well, the israelis bought the Americans... Now they are buying the Greeks. (who given their circumstances are probably costing much less than the American congress)
11 July 2011, 23:50
10
Fadi, its not because Israelis are buying Greeks, its seems that the Greeks have more brain in their end of the tows than the Arabs and Turks in all of their body.
Fighting cursing, inciting , spitting , causing terror , killing, slaughtering (sorry if I forgot something) and nothing help you.
Israel is growing its income is growing, its industry is expanding, its hi tech known all over the world while Arabs stay behind and kill themselves.
Aren't you fed up with all your rubbish?
12 July 2011, 07:49
10
No, Mr Danny B. you are very wrong.
Israel didn't do shit on its own. That progress you're claiming Israel did, was all with the help of others, out of sympathy. They were spoon fed every dollar they have. Military aid from here, economic aid from there. Arabs might be stupid, yes, but at least we have to stand with our brothers who get murdered, have their houses demolished, because some old ass rusty book called The Bible, claims that it's their "promised land".
12 July 2011, 17:16
00
Nope, please be respectful towards holy books. If you call the most printed and respected book in the world "old ass rusty book", you probably should read the version for children, maybe you would understand it and appreciate it better.
Danny B, jews are a very hard working bunch, and pretty parcimonious. They amassed tons of money through the ages, and became pretty powerful today. Now in the US jews are controlling the media. They are controlling Wall street. They are controlling the president of the US through congress. Jews are rich, they regroup, and they work for Israel in many ways. This is a world known fact. And yes the second biggest lobby in the US is the jewish lobby (3Billion anyone?)Time will show you. You are right, Israelis did inroads in hi tech pushed by their defense industry. You are right, arabs are unpragmatic dreamers hoping for things that will never be. But still, to get back to our point, the sionist entity is making inroads in buying Greece.
12 July 2011, 17:17
00
Nope, please be respectful towards holy books. If you call the most printed and respected book in the world "old ass rusty book", you probably should read the version for children, maybe you would understand it and appreciate it better.
Danny B, jews are a very hard working bunch, and pretty parcimonious. They amassed tons of money through the ages, and became pretty powerful today. Now in the US jews are controlling the media. They are controlling Wall street. They are controlling the president of the US through congress. Jews are rich, they regroup, and they work for Israel in many ways. This is a world known fact. And yes the second biggest lobby in the US is the jewish lobby (3Billion anyone?)Time will show you. You are right, Israelis did inroads in hi tech pushed by their defense industry. You are right, arabs are unpragmatic dreamers hoping for things that will never be. But still, to get back to our point, the sionist entity is making inroads in buying Greece.
