“The cooperation between Greece and the United States must become even stronger and I know that it is President Biden’s intention to further deepen the Greek-American strategic relationship,” said US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, speaking at the Athens Energy Dialogues.
The US Ambassador to Greece focused on the energy prospects of Greek-American cooperation and the role of Greece in Southeastern Europe. In particular, Geoffrey Pyatt highlighted: “Greece has an important role as a driving force of energy security and energy diversification in Southeast Europe” and deemed the matter as very important. It is noteworthy that during the pandemic, major infrastructure projects have advanced.
He also underlined the importance of these projects in Greece and said that they were redesigning the energy map of Europe by making efforts to reduce dependence on Russian gas. In addition, he spoke of the US determination to continue to support them.
He made a special reference to the telephone conversation between Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and urged to focus on “the importance given by the Biden administration to the way the United States and Europe work together in relation to common climate targets.” He even said that he was very excited about what the two countries could do together in the area.
Furthermore, Geoffrey Pyatt, referring to the telephone conversation between Nikos Dendias and Anthony Blinken, pointed out the relevant announcement issued by the State Department concerning “the continued US support for the 3 + 1 dialogue between Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the United States.” In this context, the US Ambassador highlighted the importance that the US attached to energy, noting that this was part of its broader strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean. He also spoke of the regional role of Greece and expressed US support for the East Med Gas Forum initiative and the “very important messages conveyed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Energy Minister, and Foreign Minister.” At this point, the US ambassador spoke about the peaceful settlement of disputes and of international law, emphasising that it should be the main principle of regional cooperation mechanisms. Finally, he said he was very optimistic that the sector would remain one of the really important parts of the very strong and dynamic relationship between the US and Greece.
Source: ANA-MPA
