"We are here to underscore our firm commitment to this project, to this port, to support American investment and also we are here to demonstrate our solidarity with the people of Greece and the people of this region in a difficult time," the U.S. State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Palmer, said on Saturday in statements from the northern city of Alexandroupolis.

Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on Wednesday had a meeting with the U.S. State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Matthew Palmer, where he raised the government's concerns over Turkey's provocative actions in relation to Cyprus. On his part, Palmer stressed that Greece is at the heart of energy infrastructure developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Matthew Palmer, in an interview with the Turkish Cypriot news agency, said meaningfully that finding the hydrocarbons in the region increases the importance of the Eastern Mediterranean to the US.