Observing that most Cypriots view Israel as a small country “fighting for survival,” Averof Neofytou, the leader of Cyprus’ center-right ruling party, said that his nation now appreciates the threats the Jewish state faces, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.

While Cyprus has long been one of the most hostile European nations towards Israel, Neofytou said that in recent years Cypriots have gained a “clearer picture” of Israel’s situation.

“It is a country of eight million fighting a struggle for survival and having to face hundreds of millions of Muslims and Arabs, part of whom don’t even recognize the right of the existence of a Jewish state,” he said. “So which side is strong, and which side is weak? Which side is fighting for survival?” Neophytou, in the country for three days meeting senior officials including President Reuven Rivlin and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, said Cypriots now identify with Israel, since it too is a small country of 800,000 people struggling for its survival. Turkey, its massive neighbor to the north, has a population of about 75 million. …

“For decades Israel was blamed for creating the instability in the region, but can anyone credibly blame Israel for the instability in Syria, the threat of Islamic State, the Arab Spring that turned into an Arab winter, or the chaos in Libya and Iraq?” he said.

Neofytou attributed the hostility towards Israel to Cyprus’ membership in the Non-Aligned Movement, which ended in 2004 when the country joined the European Union. He credited the growing friendship between the two countries to their respective discoveries of natural gas in the Mediterranean Sea. Neofytou added that former Israeli President Shimon Peres told him that the mutual interest in developing the resource would bring their two nations closer together.

Energy will be a major topic of discussion at a historic trilateral meeting later in January between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Netanyahu and Anastasiades have met three times in recent months.

The topics of discussion are expected to include the extraction and exportation of natural gas. One of the options for Israel would be using a marine pipeline to Turkey, which would require permission from Cyprus.

Egypt also has a stake in the natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean and has held a meeting with Cyprus and Greece on the topic.

In 2013, Israel and Cyprus held joint naval exercises with an emphasis on protecting both countries’ natural gas resources.

[Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO ]