Trump is betting on Greece as a regional energy hub.

 

Trump

Trump is betting on Greece as a regional energy hub.

The recent commissioning of the Trans-Balkans gas pipeline has allowed Greece to contribute to the "vertical" corridor to Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Hungary and Slovakia.

The opening of storage facilities at the Greek port of Alexandroupolis, near the border with Türkiye, where US liquefied natural gas arrives, has also contributed to weakening Russia's position in the regional market.

In this context, Mitsotakis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in mid-November that Greece would deliver US liquefied natural gas to Ukraine this winter to compensate for the damage caused by Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Guilfoyle emphasized that "energy independence is equivalent to national security," noting that "we see this clearly in the case of Ukraine and Russia."

The US ambassador, a former Fox News anchor, indicated that a new energy meeting between Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the United States will be held in Washington in the first quarter of 2026.

She spoke of a "strong desire among American companies to invest" in Greece.

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The United States plans to develop a new maritime center in Eleusis, near Athens, in an initiative seen as targeting Chinese shipping giant COSCO, which has owned two-thirds of the nearby port of Piraeus since 2016.

At the end of November, the Greek parliament passed a law allowing the American company Onyx, which owns the shipyards in Eleusis, to expand its activities, particularly in the commercial, port and logistics sectors.

In an interview with Ant1 television, Kimberly Guilfoyle described COSCO's activity in Piraeus as "unfortunate".

She added, "Something can be arranged, either by finding a way to boost production in other areas, or perhaps Piraeus can be put up for sale," which angered the Chinese embassy in Athens.

The Greek government responded that it would honor the contracts signed.