Cyprus Mail: Our View - Reality Must Replace Geo-Political and Gas Dreams

The foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt met when they were in New York last week in order to arrange the third tripartite summit which is expected to be held later this month in Athens. This would complete a full circle of tripartite summits, with one having been held in Cairo last year and a second in Nicosia in April.

Neither of these produced anything more tangible than some pictures of the smiling leaders shaking hands. There was also a declaration signed in each case – the Cairo and subsequently the Nicosia declaration – which spoke of economic co-operation and the strengthening of political ties among the three countries. While building good relations with neighbouring countries is good, we suspect that much more is made out of these summits than they actually have to offer.

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Cyprus is once again trying to box above its weight, but the problem is that it does not really have anything attractive to offer its potential strategic allies. As things stand, it is only a bit-player in the eastern Mediterranean energy field, given the relatively small quantities of natural gas that have been discovered. This has not stopped the government’s relentless efforts to play up the country’s energy significance and pursue alliances that have little more than publicity value.

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