Katz gets gas talks cooking with Turkey, Egypt

Energy Minister Israel Katz says he held separate talks with Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, as well as the US envoy on regional normalization efforts, Dan Shapiro, seemingly regarding gas exports in the eastern Mediterranean.

The talks with Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla and Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Cyprus for a meeting on gas exports with Greek and Cypriot leaders, part of an apparent two-pronged strategy aimed at navigating the choppy waters between the rivals.

I had a productive phone call with Israel Katz, the Israeli energy minister, to discuss opportunities for bilateral and regional energy cooperation, including natural gas.

I will visit Israel at Minister Katz's invitation at the earliest possible time. pic.twitter.com/Wh8dK2cWha

— Alparslan Bayraktar (@aBayraktar1) September 3, 2023

Bayraktar says the talks with Katz were productive and he will visit Israel as soon as he can.

Katz says the talks are “a continuation of my talks with the Greek and Cypriot energy ministers.”

He calls Israel’s offshore gas riches “the key to regional deals,” possibly hinting at the source of Shapiro’s involvement. The former US ambassador is now the Biden administration’s point man on expanding the Abraham Accords.

“Our gas, technologies and renewable energies are at the center of regional interest,” Katz says in a post on X. “Gas export policies reflect and leverage our strengths.”