US and European energy leaders in Greece to talk ways to better supply Ukraine

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Energy ministers from the United States and European countries were holding talks Thursday in Greece on how to use a newly upgraded regional pipeline network to better supply war-torn Ukraine as the Trump administration seeks to further ramp up gas exports to Europe.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were attending the meeting in Athens, hosted by the Atlantic Council, the Washington-based think tank. They were joined by more than 80 U.S. officials, European Union energy ministers, and executives from leading American liquified natural gas companies.

President Donald Trump is seeking to use America’s position as the world’s top LNG exporter to press the EU to buy more U.S. gas, linking energy exports to broader trade negotiations.

With Europe already the largest market for American LNG — and intent on cutting all Russian gas supplies over the next two years — attention has shifted to the so-called Vertical Corridor, a north-south gas route linking Greece with Bulgaria, Romania.

“Greece is blessed with a very unique geographic location, and we are the natural entry point for American liquefied natural gas into Europe,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at talks late Wednesday with the visiting U.S. officials.

“The vertical corridor is a project of great geopolitical and economic importance to us,” he said. “We’re happy that it’s becoming a reality.”