Israel-Cyprus Joint Statement
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

The following was issued this evening (Sunday, 24 July 2016):

"The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of
Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, held wide ranging discussions that reflected the
close and very important relations both countries enjoy.

In the course of the discussions, both leaders emphasized their shared
interests in regional stability and expressed their agreement to continue
countering sources of extremism and terrorism.

The two sides continued their talks about emergency response cooperation.
Both leaders encouraged their teams to conclude these talks as soon as
possible.

The two sides discussed the unitization issue regarding the Aphrodite and
Yishai gas fields, and concluded that by September 2016 the two Energy
Ministers will seek to finalize these discussions.

In the context of the exploration and development of energy resource in the
eastern Mediterranean, both leaders concluded that there is no question that
resolving the outstanding issues between Cyprus and Turkey would greatly
facilitate the pace of the development of future projects, which will
proceed according to international law, as well as greatly enhance stability
in the region. Therefore, Israel has a strong interest in the resolution of
this issue.

Both leaders stressed the importance of the trilateral framework between
Israel, Cyprus, and Greece and reconvening together by the end of the year,
as was agreed between the parties at the Nicosia Summit, on January 28,
2016."