WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), on April 20 was joined by Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), in addition to parliamentary representatives of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel in releasing the following statement on the inaugural 3+1 inter-parliamentary group meeting:

“We are pleased to have convened the first meeting of the 3+1 inter-parliamentary group with elected representatives from the United States, Cyprus, Greece, and Israel. We reaffirmed our shared commitment to promoting security, stability, and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean, and discussed ways our legislative bodies can promote joint priorities including energy security, maritime security, economic growth, and overall stability. We look forward to continuing efforts in this format.”

Cypriot representatives who joined in issuing the statement were: Harris Georgiades, Aristos Damianou, Christiana Erotokritou, and Nikolas Papadopoulos.

Greek representatives who joined in issuing the statement were: Theodora (Dora) Bakoyannis, Anastasios Chatzivasileiou, Theodoros Roussopoulos, Dimitrios Kairidis, Georgios Katrougkalos, and Georgios Papandreou.

Israeli representatives who joined in issuing the statement were: Dan Illouz and Moshe Tur-Paz.

The April 20th meeting follows the passage of SFRC Chairman Menendez’s U.S.-Greece Defense and Inter-Parliamentary Partnership Act as an amendment to the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act. The bipartisan legislation significantly bolstered U.S. support for Greek military modernization and fostered increased multilateral engagement among Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and the United States.