Rubio Tells Kathimerini the U.S. Firmly Backs the Great Sea Interconnector and Will Use Diplomacy to Clear Hurdles
ATHENS — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, in an interview published on October 8, that the United States is firmly behind an EU-backed undersea power cable in the eastern Mediterranean and will use diplomacy to help remove obstacles to it. Rubio said energy-supply diversification matters to Washington both because of Russia's war in Ukraine and because of the situation around the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. intended to use its diplomatic efforts to remind all parties why the project matters, in the hope of finding resolutions, Reuters reported.
The project, known as the Great Sea Interconnector, is being developed by Greece's power grid operator IPTO at a cost of about €1.9 billion. It aims to link the European mainland grid via Greece and Crete to Cyprus, and later to Israel. Cyprus is currently the only EU member state whose electricity market is not connected to any other member's, and the cable is intended to improve its energy security.
Progress has been slow amid a dispute between Greece and Turkey over the maritime area through which the cable would be laid. The route overlaps waters claimed under a 2019 maritime deal between Turkey and Libya, and Ankara says passage through the area requires prior coordination with Turkey; Athens rejects that deal. Greece wants to resume seabed surveying to determine the route soon. The French investment group Meridiam signed an agreement in August to become the project's majority shareholder.
Rubio gave the interview during his visit to Athens for the sixth U.S.–Greece Strategic Dialogue, where energy cooperation — the interconnector and the 'Vertical Corridor' for moving U.S. liquefied natural gas through Greece toward Central and Eastern Europe — topped the agenda.
Sources: Compiled from Reuters reporting of October 8, 2026, and Kathimerini's interview with Secretary Rubio.
Source: 路透社、《卡西梅里尼报》
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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