Biden hails Cyprus as key new player in global gas industry
By MARCUS BENSASSON and GEORGIOS GEORGIOU
Bloomberg
US Vice President Joe Biden met with Cypriot leaders as he seeks to drum up support for sanctions against Russia and looks for natural gas supply routes into Europe.
Cyprus is a “genuine strategic partner for the US,” and the Mediterranean island is going to become a key player “in a new global hub for natural gas and markets”, Biden said at a lunch with President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia.
Hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern Mediterranean can provide an alternative energy corridor to Europe, leading to increased security, Anastasiades said at the event.
Biden met with Anastasiades after talking with religious leaders from the divided island’s Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. He arrived with a White House delegation including the US deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy, Amos Hochstein, showing that energy security is high on the agenda.
“Cyprus can be a bedrock of stability and prosperity in Europe and the Middle East,” Biden said after disembarking at Larnaca airport for the first visit by a US vice president to the country since 1962. “This relationship is now a genuine strategic partnership.”
Reduced Reliance
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has driven European nations to consider ways to reduce their reliance on Russian energy supplies.
In Cyprus, where gas deposits have been found offshore, leaders are trying to leverage the attention to generate momentum in negotiations to reunite the island 40 years after Turkey’s invasion.
Biden will also meet with the leader of the breakaway Turkish state, Dervish Eroglu. The vice president tried to assuage the fears of the many Greek Cypriots who consider that the US was complicit in the island’s partition when its NATO ally Turkey invaded the northern part in 1974. The invasion was in response to a coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece, also a NATO member.
Sanctions Talks
“The US is prepared to provide any assistance in Cyprus reunification talks,” Biden told Anastasiades. “It’s possible to reach a settlement for a reunited Cyprus as a bi- zonal, bi-communal federation.”
The US only recognizes one legitimate government for the island and wants to help Cyprus reach a solution, Biden said.
Biden also said he will discuss sanctions against Russia with Anastasiades. The US and the European Union have already penalized individuals and companies over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, and indicated industry-wide sanctions may follow.
“We have to be resolute and united in the face of Russian intervention,” Biden said
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