Energy ministers from Egypt, Israel, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Italy signed on Tuesday the charter of a new Middle East energy forum that will promote natural gas exports from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe and other markets, Ekathimerini writes.
“The East Mediterranean Gas Forum, […] is in fact becoming a real international organisation,” said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.
Turkey has not been invited.
Nevertheless Athens and Ankara have agreed to start the 61st round of exploratory contacts in Istanbul to discuss their contested maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. This was made public by Greece’s Foreign Ministry in a brief announcement on Tuesday, Ekathimerini reports. The announcement follows a call between the leaders of Turkey, Germany and the European Union.