Turkey has said it strongly opposes the pipeline project and claims to have been deliberately excluded. The final signing of the project took place at the time of Turkish exploration in the region and shortly after the signing of the EEZ agreement between Turkey and Libya. [23] [24] The energy ministers of Greece, Israel and Cyprus – Kostis Hatzidakis, Yuval Steinitz and Yiorgos Lakkotrypis – signed the final agreement on the pipeline at a ceremony in Athens. Before the signing of the agreement, Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı condemned the project, stressing that it “contradicts geographical facts” and that it was “decided for purely political reasons”. The energy triangle of Greece, Cyprus and Israel signed on March 20, 2019 in Tel Aviv, in the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an intergovernmental agreement on the EastMed gas pipeline as a sign of Washington`s support for the project. [10] The interest of the United States in the pipeline is explained by Washington`s request that its European partners maintain a policy of diversification of their energy imports. [11] The pipeline will diversify European gas supply and reduce dependence on Russian natural gas. [12] [13] [14] The energy ministers of the three countries signed the agreement at a ceremony in the Zappeion exhibition hall, in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Greece and Israel, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. “He (the agreement). supports a common goal for peace, security and stability in the particularly vulnerable Eastern Mediterranean region,” said Mr Anastasiades. In January 2019, seven energy ministers from the region reached an agreement for the creation of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.

Total S.A., Eni and Novatek, as well as Exxon, have signed exploration and production agreements with the governments concerned. [25] Turkey is designated as an exception to regional rest. [26] The current members of the group are Egypt, Cyprus, Israel and Greece. Representatives of Palestine and Jordan participated in the meetings of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum. [27] In January 2020, France and the United States applied to join the Forum as a permanent member or observer. [28] Greece announced that the agreement would be concluded as soon as Italy contained it. Italy is expected to sign the agreement at a later date, the Greek government said. Greece, Cyprus and Israel have signed an agreement on the construction of a 1,900-kilometre-long sub-marine gas pipeline to transport natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe and possibly help the continent reduce its energy dependence on Russia. In a statement, the Israeli Ministry of Energy announced that the Jan. .

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