Israeli, Greek PMs agree to deepen energy cooperation

JERUSALEM, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed to further enhance the two countries' energy cooperation during a phone talk Wednesday.

"The two leaders discussed the need to continue deepening cooperation between Greece and Israel, including in the field of energy," Lapid's office said in a statement, adding that they "agreed to stay in regular and close contact."

In 2020, Israel, Greece and Cyprus agreed to advance a project named EastMed, a 1,900-km-long undersea pipeline to carry gas from deposits off Israel's Mediterranean coast to continental Europe via Greece and Cyprus.

In January 2022, the United States withdrew its support for the project, saying the project was too complex and not economically viable.

However, Israel, Greece and Cyprus said in April that they would continue to cooperate on natural gas projects, including exporting gas to Europe.