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Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon sign agreement on fighting terrorism

Xinhua, February 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Cyprus, Greece and Lebanon agreed to cooperate in fighting terrorism and promoting stability and cooperation on the migration crisis in the region, a joint statement issued on Monday said.

The foreign ministers of the three countries met in Brussels in a first move to forge a tripartite cooperation pact on the lines of separate similar agreements joining Egypt, Jordan and Israel with Cyprus and Greece, Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said after hosting the meeting.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and Greece's Foreign Minister Nicos Kotzias said they highlighted the importance of maintaining the stability of Lebanon and expressed their readiness to support the country in the framework of the EU in facing the influx of refugees from Syria.

"The Foreign Ministers discussed regional issues and stressed the importance of supporting the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean," the joint statement said.

"They also discussed ways to fight terrorism and agreed on the need for data exchange with third countries' security services on the issue," it added.

The ministers further examined ways of cooperation in energy, tourism and commerce sectors and agreed on holding a meeting of permanent secretaries in Athens to discuss the issues in greater detail.

In a separate development, Lebanon's deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Samir Moqbel paid an official visit to Cyprus on Monday, signing a bilateral cooperation program.

Cypriot Defense Minister Christoforos Fokaides said the tripartite agreement signed in Brussels enhances cooperation between the three countries and prospect of bringing closer together the European Union and the Eastern Mediterranean.

He also said that in the face of rising tensions in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East they discussed establishing communication channels allowing the two countries to promote peace, security and stability in the region.

They also focused on combating terrorism and "new asymmetric threats as well as the grave problem of the migration crisis." Endit