Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Israel earlier this week on his first trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began to meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on a variety of issues, including the reopening of tourism between the two countries.

“If the coronavirus numbers allow it, August 1 is the target date for opening the skies,” Netanyahu told reporters with Mitsotakis at his side.

Greece reopened its main airports to tourists on Monday, mainly to European countries. However, Israel is a lucrative market for Greece, with about 1.2 million Israelis visiting Greece on an annual basis in recent years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the framework of the G2G meeting between the governments of Israel and Greece today, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem. 🇮🇱🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/33oXCInWnq

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 16, 2020

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told Mitsotakis that he hopes that travel to and from Greece could resume without the need for self-quarantine on August 1. Netanyahu wants to open Israel’s skies for Cypriot citizens on the same date.

Mitsotakis’s trip to Israel was also intended to promote the tri-lateral natural gas agreement between Greece, Israel and Cyprus, the EastMed Pipeline Agreement signed in January by the three countries.

Mitsotakis warned about Turkey’s “aggressive behavior,” saying that there have been “recent incidents of illegal and provocative Turkish behavior at our sea, air and land border” and decrying “the destabilizing effect that Turkey has wrought vis-a-vis its relationship with Libya.”

Turkey and Libya have declared part of the eastern Mediterranean as an exploration area.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)