Diplomacy must resolve all the problems created by the Gulf crisis, former US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said in an interview with “Naftemporiki” and Michalis Psilos.
“Two months after the start of the war, it’s very clear to me that the White House would like to see this war wound up quickly, it’s having a negative impact on our economy at home, it’s impacting the world’s economy, including Greece,” Pyatt underlined.
However, Pyatt added that “the White House has also made clear that there are certain minimums that they’re going to insist on in terms of Iran’s nuclear program, in terms of Iran’s missile program, and I think the question we also need to keep an eye on is what does the wider region look like the day after. And we all have a strategic interest there.”
He stressed that a key question is what the broader region will look like the day after: “I think the question of what the regime is going to look like in a post-war scenario is critically important. Is this going to be a radicalized regime, which is an even greater force of destabilization, or is there going to be an economic opening? Is this going to be a Venezuela scenario, where you have US companies coming in, you have Iranian energy flowing freely to the rest of the world? But that’s what diplomacy is going to have to solve, and we also need to solve the critical question of freedom of navigation through the Straits of Hormuz, an area that’s of vital importance, including to Greek shipowners.”
Impact on Europe
Regarding the energy implications for Europe, Pyatt noted: “First of all, Europe is in a much better position today than it was in 2022. I remember when I was here, when Russia cut off gas flows to Europe, I was on the phone almost every day with Minister Skrekas, because it was a real crisis.
Today, Europe is much more resilient. You have the Alexandroupoli FSRU, you have the Vertical Corridor, you have gas coming through Revythoussa, you have a lot more American LNG. But it’s also the case that this crisis, however it’s solved, is going to end with a new risk premium attached to the movement of oil through the Straits, and you ‘re going to see, I believe, a further investment in renewable power, because that is more secure, not as a climate goal, but as an energy security goal, as an affordability goal.”
Greece as an energy hub
Geoffrey Pyatt stressed that Greece is now emerging as a really important energy hub in Southeast Europe.
“Greece right now is an energy hub, because of the support of the United States. So what will be the consequences of this? So I’m very proud of how the work that I helped lead as ambassador has been continued by my successors, and you’re seeing Greece emerge as a really important Southeastern Europe energy hub. You’re also seeing fantastic growth in terms of American companies,” he said and added:
“I’ve watched, for instance, the progress that Chevron and Helleniq Energy have made together. You have ExxonMobil and Helleniq Energy beginning offshore exploration. But you also have fantastic developments on the clean energy side.”
He also referred to the GE Vernova wind turbines. The original investment was by Fortress Investment of New York City. “It’s an example of how we can also use clean energy and renewable energy as an anchor for bilateral cooperation.
And then there’s all the work that PPC is doing, for instance, with its new battery energy storage projects and data center project in Western Macedonia, another area with synergy with America.”
Praise for Kyriakos Mitsotakis
The former US ambassador also referred to recent praise by US President Donald Trump for Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“I would just point out that Prime Minister Mitsotakis has been very, very skillful in navigating the complexities of Donald Trump’s Washington. Even Prime Minister Meloni has had problems. So I give Kyriakos Mitsotakis tremendous credit for his skills as a diplomat, aside from his political skills.”
Για να εμφανίζονται περισσότερα άρθρα της Ναυτεμπορικής στις αναζητήσεις σας εύκολα και γρήγορα, πρέπει να προσθέσετε το site στις προτιμώμενες πηγές σας. Μπορείτε να το κάνετε πηγαίνοντας εδώ.
