The United States has withdrawn from the EastMed gas pipeline project of Greece, Cyprus and Israel after realizing that it would create no added value, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th January, 2022) The United States has withdrawn from the EastMed gas pipeline project of Greece, Cyprus and Israel after realizing that it would create no added value, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the month, the spokesperson for the US embassy in Athens announced that Washington was pivoting to clean energy technologies, focusing on electricity interconnectors. On Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post reported that the US had told Israel, Greece and Cyprus it would no longer support the project.
"Washington realized that this project will not yield anything," Erdogan said during a visit to Albania, noting the project's "financial inadequacy."
The president asserted that any such projects can only be undertaken with Turkey involved.
"If gas arrives in Europe, (it will be) only through Turkish territory. Turkey is ready to discuss the matter with Israel," Erdogan stated.
In early 2020, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel agreed to construct the EastMed pipeline to bring natural gas from Israel's Leviathan field and Cyprus' Aphrodite field to Greece, and further on to Italy and other southeastern European countries. Ankara has been very critical of the project.
