Has US backed off EastMed – US Remains Committed to 3 + 1 Regional Cooperation Scheme says State Dept.

The US state Department sent a non-paper to the Greek government, with the formal recipient being the Secretary General of International Economic Relations and Extroversion of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Giannis Smyrlis. The non-paper was reportedly sent also to The Israeli government, however, not to the embassies of Greece, Cyrpus and Israel in Washington. Through the non-paper the US State Department has ‘ended’ the EastMed project, Greek media have been reporting in the last two days.

The State Department clarified that the non-paper, allegedly expressed US concerns about the economic and environmental viability of the EastMed pipeline.

Answering a question from the Greek correspondents, a State Department spokesman clarified that the United States remains committed to the 3 + 1 regional cooperation scheme and that they consider Europe’s energy security a matter of national security. However, he noted that Washington is focusing on clean energy technologies that will prepare the Eastern Mediterranean region for the transition to a new energy era.

“At a time when Europe’s energy security is more than ever a matter of national security, we are committed to deepening our regional relations and promoting clean energy technologies,” he said. The US continues to actively support regional efforts to strengthen cooperation and stability, such as the 3 + 1 scheme in which the Republic of Cyprus, Greece, Israel and the US participate. We remain committed to the natural energy interconnection of the Eastern Mediterranean with Europe. We are shifting our interest to electricity interconnections that can also support the (supply of) gas and renewable energy sources. We support projects such as the planned EuroAfrica interconnection from Egypt to Crete and the proposed EuroAsia interconnection that will connect the Israeli, Cypriot and European electricity networks. “Such projects will not only connect vital energy markets, but will also help prepare the region for the transition to clean energy.”