Rubio says US committed to Mediterranean undersea power cable

ATHENS, Oct 8 (Reuters) – The US supports an EU-backed undersea power cable scheme in the eastern Mediterranean and will use diplomacy to try to remove any possible hurdles, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told a Greek newspaper.

Greece’s power grid operator IPTO is developing the €1.9 billion scheme, which aims to link the European mainland to Cyprus and later Israel, but progress has been slow amid a dispute between Greece and Turkey over the maritime area that will be designated for laying down the cable.

Greece wants to resume seabed surveying to determine the route soon, a move Turkey says would need prior coordination between the two countries as it crosses an area under a 2019 maritime deal with Libya, which Athens has rejected.

Rubio said in the interview with Kathimerini newspaper, published on Thursday, that the US was “very committed” to the project as it promotes energy supply diversification, which he said was necessary due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. 

“We understand there are some potential impediments, there are some things standing in the way, and we intend to use our diplomatic efforts to remind all parties how important this is to us and why this matters. And I hope to find resolutions,” he said.

French investment group Meridiam signed in August an agreement to become the majority shareholder in the project.

Cyprus is the only EU country that has no link to ​other members’ electricity markets, and the cable aims to improve its ​energy security.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Alison Williams)