Ambassador Oren Anolik gave an exclusive interview to Andreas Bimbishis, Phileleftheros, on the bilateral relations and the fields of cooperation
between the two countries. “I
strongly believe in the great potential these relations have. Plenty has been
achieved by now, but there is still an abundance of opportunities in many
fields to be explored,” he said, adding that he will do his utmost to
further enhance and solidify the partnership between the two governments and peoples.
Israel
remains committed to the implementation of the EastMed pipeline, clarified the
Ambassador, explaining that the current situation allows to move to the next
stage in the field of energy- from the level of agreement and expectations to
the one of implementation. “We are concerned about the aggressiveness in
Eastern Mediterranean and we emphasize that we want this to stop,” he added.
Asked about
the cooperation of the two countries in defense and security issues, the Ambassador said that “Cyprus has its own defense
and security policy and so does Israel. Israel is able to help other countries strengthen their defense
capability by providing know-how and technology, training and defense
equipment.”
He also mentioned that Israel can share also its experience on tackling one of the main challenges in the region- the
immigration crisis.
Finally, Ambassador
Anolik also revealed his personal double bond to Cyprus: The grandfather of his
wife served as the first General Consul of Israel in Cyprus, in 1950, whereas
his father in law was a detainee in the British camps on the island in 1947.
Full interview (in Greek):