US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt expressed his optimism about the fact that they were “going to be able to transform energy issues, even in the Eastern Mediterranean, to being a driver of cooperation rather than conflict,” speaking at the AmCham’s Southeast Europe Energy Forum at Thessaloniki on Friday.
Speaking about the imminent visit of US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to Cyprus, Pyatt said that he was “going to be very clear about the United States’ commitment to continued leadership, continued engagement, working with our European allies, and emphasising the need to bring differences back to the diplomatic table and eliminate the situation which exists today, where there’s a real risk of accidental military escalation.”
Pointing up the significance of regional alliances, he said that he felt “extremely proud of how much we’ve accomplished in the 3+1 relationship between Greece, Israel, Cyprus, and the United States.”
“It’s no exaggeration to say that energy is one of the most important and strongest pillars of the US-Greece strategic relationship,” the Ambassador highlighted.
Mike Pompeo’s decision to visit Nicosia today was a bolt from the blue. Therefore, rumours began that his visit was an American response to Sergei Lavrov’s recent trip to Cyprus. According to the Cypriot media, the visit of the US Secretary of State to Cyprus, albeit brief, was aimed at sending multiple messages in relation to the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean.
His visit took place following President Trump’s phone conversations with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which aimed at de-escalating tensions in the region. Mike Pompeo said that the Germans did a good job trying to achieve a starting point with respect to the talks in order to de-escalate the situation.
Moreover, Mike Pompeo said: “We hope that the civilian vessels will be withdrawn so that the talks can take place.” He sent a message to Turkey to remove its vessels if it really intends to initiate a dialogue with Greece. He also spoke of the decision to lift the arms embargo on Cyprus. He said that it was an issue that the US had been working on for a long time and that the time was ripe to do so.
