Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum in Athens on Thursday to discuss energy cooperation.

The meeting came one day after the American oil company Chevron submitted a bid for hydrocarbon exploration in four offshore blocks south of Crete and the Peloponnese.

According to a government statement, the talks confirmed the “excellent level” of Greek-American relations, with discussions focusing on energy. The statement added that Greece is becoming an energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeastern Europe.

Mitsotakis and Burgum also discussed electricity interconnector projects, particularly the GSI and GREGY initiatives, the Alexandroupoli-Odessa corridor, and the role of Greek shipping in LNG transport.

At the start of the meeting, the two men had a brief exchange in front of journalists.

Mitsotakis welcomed Burgum to Athens, expressing condolences over the murder of conservative political figure Charlie Kirk, while also drawing attention to Chevron’s bid.

“It’s a very interesting coincidence that you come a day after Chevron officially submits interest to start exploratory work in areas south of Crete, confirming the sovereign rights of the Hellenic Republic in that area,” Mitsotakis told Burgum.

For his part, Burgum told Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that the role of the US is to ensure energy abundance for its allies so they do not depend on adversaries.

“The Trump administration has a couple of goals around energy, and one of those is energy abundance, so energy to our friends and our allies so they do not have to buy from our adversaries,” Burgum told Mitsotakis.

[Kathimerini, Reuters]

Source: Ekathimerini.com