Greece, Israel to Tighten Ties After PM's Visit

Greece and Israel will undergo “a major upgrade of relations,” said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's spokesmen following a meeting between Netanayhu and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, whose visit this week was the first visit by a Greek prime minister in decades.
Israel's tighter ties with Greece come on the heels of a sharp deterioration in ties between Israel and Turkey. Papandreou denied a connection between the two, telling reporters, “I've been thinking of forging closer ties with Israel for about two years.”  However, the history of Greek-Turkish relationships has been characterized more by conflict than by cooperation, with the once violent controversy of the two countries over control of Cyprus a noted example. Both countries' national days celebrate victories over one another.
The two prime ministers discussed their countries' shared ground. Jerusalem and Athens provided the basis for Western civilization, Netanyahu said, and Israel and Greece are now sources of stability in the Middle East. Papandreou recalled the Holocaust, in which many Greeks were killed, concluding, “We too say 'never again.'”
Interesting end-time alliance.