US actively gets behind East Med trilateral alliance

Officials from Greece, Cyprus and Israel met in Washington on Friday to discuss economic engagement as part of an ongoing US-backed regional cooperation initiative dubbed 3+1. 

In a declaration, the officials said their previous March 20 summit, attended by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is part of their joint commitment to promote peace, stability, security and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

The Washington meeting was hosted by Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Manisha Singh and attended by Cyprus Ambassador Marios Lysiotis, Greek Charge d'Affaires Theodoros Bizakis and Deputy Head of Mission of Israel to the United States Benjamin Krasna. 

"The officials discussed economic tools to address shared economic and economic-related national security issues," the US State Department said in a statement. 

"The...