US reaffirms support for Greece, Cyprus, Israel energy partnership
The State Department has issued a statement reaffirming the United States' support for the energy cooperation partnership developing between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, as discussed at a meeting of energy ministers from the three countries in Athens on Wednesday.
Referring to the meeting between ministers Kostis Hatzidakis of Greece, Giorgos Lakkotrypis of Cyprus and Yuval Steinitz of Israel, which was also attended by US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon, the statement stressed the “the increasing and tangible support of the US government for the establishment of a structured quadrilateral mechanism.”
Areas of potential cooperation that were identified during the talks, the statement said, include infrastructure projects, renewable energy and energy storage, emergency preparedness, environmental protection and cyber security.
The officials also agreed to the establishment of a high level working group that will propose ways of promoting the implementation of specific projects, as well as to an agreement “for a joint emergency preparedness and response mechanism for offshore oil and gas operations.”
The statement stressed the support of the United States and the partnership for Cyprus and its right to develop resources discovered within its exclusive economic zone, while expressing “concern with recent provocative steps underway in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
“The United States also reaffirmed its position that the island’s oil and gas resources should be shared equitably between both communities in the context of an overall settlement,” the statement from the State Department added.
