The United States is aiming to deepen its energy cooperation with Greece as part of efforts to curb Europe’s reliance on Russian oil and gas, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Thursday during a visit to Athens.
Meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Burgum said Washington’s strategy was to ensure “energy abundance” for allies, reducing the need to buy from adversaries. His trip to Europe this week has focused on securing energy supply agreements to strengthen U.S. influence in the region, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The visit came a day after Greece announced that a consortium including Chevron had submitted a bid to explore for natural gas in Greek waters. Some of the areas under consideration lie south of Crete, close to disputed maritime zones, a move Athens views as tacit U.S. support for its territorial claims.
Mitsotakis welcomed the timing, saying Chevron’s interest confirmed “the sovereign rights of the Hellenic Republic.”
Greece has already sharply increased imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas, up 95% in the first half of this year. The development underscores Washington’s broader push to replace Russian supplies, which once accounted for nearly half of Europe’s gas imports but are expected to drop to around 13% this year.
