Cyprus – Greece – Egypt Trilateral Summit
Athens Declaration
We, Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of the Hellenic
Republic, Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and
Nikos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus, cognizant of the
immense challenges to the stability, security and prosperity of the Eastern
Mediterranean and the need for a concerted and collective response, have met in
Athens, Greece, on December 9 th, 2015 for the third
Greece-Egypt-Cyprus Trilateral Summit, to effectively tackle these challenges
and solidify the foundations of our tripartite cooperation in the years to come,
building on the significant progress achieved so far.
Our 3rd Trilateral Summit underlines our well-established
and continuous tripartite partnership aiming at promoting peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Eastern
Mediterranean in various fields (political, economic, trade, culture, tourism).
We remain committed to effectively promoting our common values and
interests and continuing to work towards enhancing our tripartite consultation
at all levels. This framework serves as a model for regional dialogue, including
through close coordination and cooperation in the framework of multilateral
fora, as well as through efforts to further promote relations between the EU and
the Arab world.
We acknowledge the mutually beneficial nature of the European
Union –Egypt relationship. We agree on the need for the European Union to
support Egypt politically and economically, including in its fight against
terrorism, acknowledging its pivotal role for the security and stability in the
East Mediterranean region.
In this context we acknowledge the ever increasing importance of the
Euro-Mediterranean cooperation for the countries of the region and stress, on
the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration, the enhanced
role the Union for Mediterranean can play to this end, as reflected in the Joint
Communication of the EU on the Review of the European Neighbourhood Policy of
18 th November 2015. We welcome the recent Ministerial Meeting of the
Union in Barcelona
In view of the recent terrorist attacks in the Middle East, Europe
and Africa, we wish to reiterate once more our full support to the
comprehensive , collective and focused action of the international community towards fighting
international terrorism. We strongly condemn all terrorist actions and
call upon all states to actively and effectively confront this threat and to
step up cooperation on security matters with a view to defeating these groups
and exposing their major supporters . International terrorism constitutes
a global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security. In this
context we reaffirm our commitment to the collective international effort of the
Global Coalition to combat ISIS/Da’esh as well as other terrorist groups
in accordance with the provisions of international law,
and we underline the need to enhance efforts to end the flow of
foreign terrorist fighters and to counter ISIS/Da’esh propaganda as well as to
disrupt the provision of financial and military support to terrorist
groups .
The increased mixed migratory flows as a result of the ongoing
turmoil in our neighborhood need a holistic and comprehensive approach,
addressing the roots of the problem, especially the resolution of conflicts,
eradicating poverty and promoting socio-economic development. We affirm our
commitment to exert every effort to prevent, as a matter of priority, any
further loss of life at sea, in cooperation with the countries of origin and
transit, and to combat the activities of smugglers. We reiterate our readiness
to contribute towards addressing the humanitarian aspects of the ongoing refugee
crisis, in cooperation with all countries concerned.
The mobilization of the EU and all of its Member States is of primary
importance since the refugee crisis represents a major challenge that we can
overcome only if we work closely together and remain united in our efforts with
solidarity and with the adoption of a genuine approach of partnership, shared
responsibility and burden.
We strongly support the unity and territorial integrity of Syria and
we are of the opinion that the participants to the Vienna process should abstain
from acts that in essence undermine the spirit of what was agreed there. We
continue to support the efforts of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria
Staffan de Mistura and we consider the two Vienna meetings as a contributing
step forward, both for the set of principles agreed on the future state of Syria
as well as the timetable set for the steps to be taken in the immediate future
to end the bloodshed.
We express our serious concern about the security situation in
Libya which affects security and stability in neighboring countries. We
support the efforts of the UNSG Special Representative Martin Kobler and we call
upon all parties to work constructively towards a swift formation of a
Government of National Accord
The situation in Yemen is still posing a threat to the
stability of the wider Middle East. We reiterate our support for the legitimate
government of Yemen and for the preservation of its unity and territorial
integrity. UN-led efforts to resume inclusive negotiations are the only way
forward and we welcome the efforts by the Gulf Cooperation Council to complement
UN initiatives. We stress the need to address with determination the threat of
extremist and terrorist groups present in Yemen. We are worried about the
humanitarian crisis and we call for unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for
the civilian population.
We reaffirm our support to the government of Iraq in its
efforts to achieve stability peace and political cohesion as well as its fight
against terrorism. The territorial integrity, sovereignty and unity of Iraq
should be respected. We call upon the Iraqi government to speed up the national
reconciliation process with inclusive participation.
We consider the agreement reached by the E3/EU+3 and Iran in Vienna on the
latter’s nuclear program a significant step towards strengthening the
international and regional security. We look forward to its implementation
according to schedule.
We reiterate our commitment to the two State solution which will
guarantee for the Palestinian People a viable, sovereign, independent and
contiguous State, on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital,
living in peace and security with all its neighbors. We express our firm belief
that the historic status quo of all holy sites, in East Jerusalem, must be fully
respected.
We are deeply concerned about the current escalation of violence. We
express our readiness to work closely with both sides and the international
community, to help restore calm. Violence can be addressed through restarting,
as soon as possible, a credible political process that provides a clear
political horizon for reaching a comprehensive settlement. To that respect, the
role of Egypt remains crucial.
Given the political vacuum in Lebanon, we underline the urgent need
for the election of a new President. We strongly support the efforts of Prime
Minister Salam to keep the government stable and functioning, and stand firm by
Lebanon in its fight against terrorism and its efforts to maintain security in
the country.
We express our full and unwavering support to the ongoing negotiation
process, under the United Nations Good Office Mission, for a just, lasting and
comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem based on international law, and
the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions. Such a settlement,
which will reunify the island, based on the respect of democratic principles and
the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, would not only
benefit the people of Cyprus as a whole, but would also significantly contribute
to the stability and peace in the region.
We wish to re-emphasize that the discovery of important
hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the recent
discovery of the “Zohr” gas field in Egypt’s Exclusive Economic Zone, can serve
as a catalyst for peace and stability in the region. This objective would be
better served through the adherence by the countries of the region to well
established principles of international law. Recognizing the universal character
of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which all three
countries are State-Parties, we agree to accelerate negotiations on the
outstanding issues related to the delimitation of our three counties’ adjacent
maritime zones.
Recognizing that maritime industry and tourism are vital components
of the economy of our countries, we agreed to continue working closely together
with a view to strengthening our cooperation on common projects, with the
involvement of both state and private actors, including developing joint tourism
packages and cruises and enhancing the maritime connection between the three
countries for the transfer of both cargo and passengers.
We express our concern with regard to the destruction of cultural
heritage of countries in the Middle East as well as the organized looting and
illicit trafficking of cultural objects, carried out, among others, by
ISIS/Da’esh. We agree to intensify our work towards tackling this alarming
phenomenon and underline the need for a robust UNSC Resolution envisioning
world-wide limitations on the trade and transfer of artifacts from all conflict
zones, with the burden of proof of legitimate trade remaining upon the traders,
auction houses and buyers and not on the originating states.
We remain convinced of the strategic nature of this trilateral
cooperation and we will continue to work closely towards the fullest
exploitation of its potential, to the benefit of our peoples and the wider
region.
In this regard, we have decided to establish a standing Joint
Committee of Cooperation which will develop, formulate and promote practical
project of trilateral interest.
