US deputy state secretary backs Polish-led Three Seas Initiative: report
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
20.12.2018 13:20
The United States enthusiastically supports a Polish-led initiative to boost ties in a strategic region in Europe between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas, the US deputy state secretary has been quoted as saying.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz (right) and US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan (left) meet in Warsaw on Wednesday. Photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka
Poland and Croatia in 2015 launched a regional drive called the Three Seas Initiative to boost infrastructure, energy and economic cooperation as well as political ties among 12 European countries.
The Three Seas Initiative brings together Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary.
The Three Seas is an initiative that the American president and his administration enthusiastically support, US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan declared while in Warsaw on Wednesday, according to Poland’s niezalezna.pl website.
He was quoted as saying in an interview with the Polish news website that Poland was a key player in its region and that its policies in areas such as security and energy were headed in the right direction and in line with American and NATO policies.
US President Donald Trump said in September that the initiative to boost cooperation among 12 countries between the Black, Baltic and Adriatic Seas had "great potential" to strengthen energy security and reduce trade barriers.
During a visit to Warsaw in July last year, Trump said that America would be the “strongest ally and steadfast partner” of the Three Seas Initiative.
US 'no' to Nord Stream 2
In his interview with niezalezna.pl, Sullivan also spoke against the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, reaffirming the US administration’s opposition to the energy project, which has been criticised by countries including Poland, according to the Polish website.
The US House of Representatives this month passed a non-binding resolution voicing opposition to Nord Stream 2 and describing the project as a "drastic step backwards for European energy security and United States interests."
While in Warsaw on Wednesday, Sullivan met officials including Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz and the Polish president’s chief of staff, Krzysztof Szczerski, niezalezna.pl reported.
He also took part in a ceremony during which Polish state-run gas giant PGNiG finalised a 20-year contract for liquefied natural gas from the United States, niezalezna.pl said.
(gs/pk)
Source: niezalezna.pl