U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy and former U.S. Ambassador to Athens Jeffrey Payette began his term with a visit to Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, but not Greece, amid a flurry of behind-the-scenes energy activity. problems in the south-eastern Mediterranean, quoted by the Greeks Mono News, Rador.

What, among other things, is evidenced, on the one hand, by the Agreement between Israel and Lebanon on the delimitation of exclusive economic zones under the high control of President Biden’s special envoy Amos Hochstein, and on the other hand by the “loophole” addressed to Putin in Brussels, with a “bait” that Russia can direct natural gas through the Black Sea to Turkey for transport from there to Europe.

But also the fact that the general director of the Russian company “Gazprom” Alexei Miller a little later repeated the proposal of his “boss” to implement this … decision, even clarifying … the situation in space: namely, this new hub can be created on the border EU with Turkey.

While all this is happening, in the region (coincidentally?), namely Bucharest, Sofia and Ankara, is visiting Jeffrey Payette, who, according to the diplomatic wording of the State Department, is meeting “with government officials and senior management representatives of the energy sector to promote bilateral and trade relations in in the field of energy” and to discuss with them “joint efforts to promote European energy security, reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and continue the transition to clean energy.”

In addition, on the agenda of the American official’s discussions in Bucharest, there are also issues related to “promoting non-military cooperation for nuclear energy.” In Sofia, Payette is meeting with government officials and private sector groups “to strengthen business ties and coordinate energy security.”

The presence and statements made in Turkey of the US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources are also of considerable interest.

There, not only was he one of the main speakers at the Istanbul Conference entitled “Clean Energy Prospects”, which, it should be noted, was organized by the Atlantic Council Türkiye and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), but he also made a revelation to Payatt.

“As of February, 70% of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe, and the U.S. is on track to become the world’s largest LNG exporter this year, reflecting both the superiority of U.S. energy resources and our ingenuity and flexibility.”

And as if that were not enough, Payette did not hesitate to emphasize the role of Turkey in the current processes.

“We recognize the important role of our allies and partners in these efforts. We cooperated with Turkey to promote medium and long-term energy supply diversification projects in Europe. We also highly appreciate what Turkey has done in using its new regasification capacity to support LNG supplies to its neighbours.”

A US official called Turkey a “real leader” in this regard, with more than 50% of installed renewable energy capacity.

As a major economy and NATO ally, Turkey plays a key role in regional diversification and energy transit efforts, the most important examples of which are the TANAP pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor, Payette noted.

The statements of Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources from Ankara Alparslan Bayraktar are also interesting. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, hydrogen and nuclear energy are alternative resources that should be harnessed through strong and sustainable policies and investments.

“Our goal of becoming a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 will be achieved through regional cooperation and investment. We are entering a new era of natural gas and electricity with great possibilities of interconnection with neighboring countries,” the Turkish official emphasized, giving another dimension to the events, mainly those that take place behind closed doors.