The Americas
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Cyprus, Greece eye East Med gas discoveries for EU export
ATHENS – More offshore hydrocarbon discoveries from the East Mediterranean region similar to Egypt’s giant Zohr field could boost gas exports to Europe.“At the...
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Searching for meaning in Greek PM Tsipras’ planned Washington visit
Since the announcement of a White House meeting for Greek PM Alexis Tsipras last July, issued by the Office of Vice President Pence, observers...
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Not impacted by sanctions, Russia, China ink Siberian exploration deal
Russian oil giant Rosneft and CEFC China Energy Company Limited signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement to develop projects in Western and Eastern Siberia and...
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Snubbing Turkey, Italy’s ENI will drill off Cyprus
Italian energy major ENI’s bold announcement that it will start a drilling programme in November offshore Cyprus, which not only involves blocks 3 and...
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US’ Russia sanctions undercut Gazprom’s Ukraine tariffs
The new US sanctions against Russia reportedly create the risk of weakening Russian gas monopoly Gazprom’s position in talks with Ukraine on tariffs for...
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Macedonia name dispute: Are the stars aligning for a new U.S. push?
In the shadow of the failed Cyprus talks, another critical regional issue for Greece and the Western Balkans is apparently coming back into sharp...
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US Vice President Pence reaches out to Greek PM Tsipras after Cyprus talks collapse
In a clear attempt to minimize the regional political fallout from the failed Cyprus talks, U.S. Vice President Michael Pence called Greek Prime Minister...
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Concordia Europe Summit: Joe Biden tries to contain Trump’s transatlantic shockwaves
Concordia’s June 6-7 inaugural Europe Summit in Athens covered a wide array of issues from the ongoing refugee crisis, Eurozone disputes, the UN’s Sustainable...
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Concordia's Europe Summit inaugurated in Athens
The inaugural Concordia Europe Summit ran June 6-7 in Athens. Launching the star-studded event, Concordia’s founders, Nicholas Logothetis and Matthew Swift, said Greece...
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OPEC, non-OPEC extend oil cut as cooperation with Russia improves
VIENNA - In an effort to reduce a global crude oil glut and boost prices, Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and...
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US calls for relaxing Gazprom’s stranglehold on EU market
ATHENS – Several key energy projects currently underway in Greece will bring significant quantities of non-Russian gas to Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, and other regional...
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Iran election not to jeopardise nuclear deal, affect oil prices
When Iranians vote to elect a new president on May 19, traders and Mideast observers will be watching, but it is unlikely that Tehran,...
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Oversupply fears push oil prices to five-month lows
Fears of oversupply pushed oil prices to five-month lows on May 5 despite signals that Russia is ready to join the Organization of Petroleum...
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Trump signs order on oil drilling but market is skeptical
As he approaches his first 100 days in office, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 28 that could lead to...
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Cyprus inks major deals with foreign energy giants
France’s Total, Italy’s ENI, US ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum signed agreements in Nicosia this week to explore and produce hydrocarbons offshore Cyprus. Total signed...
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Russia, Finland, Iceland warm up to Arctic cooperation
Arctic countries gathered in Arkhangelsk, Russia, to discuss current issues relating to the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin with his Finnish and Icelandic counterparts...
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Go West (Again)! Digital Policy Minister Nikos Pappas visits Trump’s Washington
Greece’s Syriza-ANEL (Independent Greeks) coalition government simply won’t back off from its efforts to expand contacts with the Trump Administration, with the third minister...
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For March 25th at least, Greece comes in from the cold to meet the Trump Administration
For the traditional White House celebration of Greek Independence Day (March 25), everything has always been beautiful, regardless of which party currently holds the...
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US, NATO could play a role in East Med energy security
DELPHI, Greece - The United States and NATO will need to have a military presence in the East Mediterranean to protect the energy resources...
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Trump unveils his “Hard Power Budget” delineating elements of an American withdrawal from global leadership, if approved
The screaming had already started well before President Trump revealed his proposals for a “Hard Power Budget” March 16, since the main budget outlines...
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Brief encounters of the first kind: Top U.S. and Greek diplomats meet
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias in Washington March 13, just hours before Tillerson planned to depart...
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Will Trump’s budget proposals eviscerate America’s smart power?
Since the Trump Administration’s first budget blueprint was circulated at the end of February, Washington has been abuzz with rumors about where massive budget...
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US backs Greece’s efforts to build EU energy connections
DELPHI, Greece - The United States strongly supports Greece’s efforts to build its energy connections with Europe, US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt told...
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Pump up the volume: Where is Secretary of State Tillerson’s department anyway?
The relative silence from the State Department over the first month of the Trump Administration has led some to an eerie conclusion that Secretary...
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EU hesitation puts Arctic plans on ice
BRUSSELS – The European Union needs to play an active role in the Arctic instead of simply observing the developments in the region, European...
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Tillerson’s arrival at the State Department calms the waters, for now
The arrival of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the State Department February 1 (he was sworn in the night before) seems to have...
Albania
Ambassador Pyatt says US wants EU energy deal to block Russia
ATHENS – The United States will continue to work with the European Union to promote diversification of energy supplies and lessen dependence on Russia,...
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State Department senior officer turnover significant but not a politically-driven mass resignation
Quite a few screaming headlines were generated in the U.S. press when it was announced Under Secretary of State for Management (called “M” at...
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Greek Ministers attend event linked to Trump inauguration hoping to project message of respectability
At first glance one reads that tile and thinks, “So what’s new, that’s all the Greek political class ever does when invited abroad, there’s...
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Exxon keeps Russian Arctic assets frozen with an eye on Tillerson
Only a week to go until Donald Trump officially becomes US President, pundits are still trying to predict the policies of his administration, including...
Energy
Eight years later, Obama bars Arctic oil, gas leasing
In a move to build and possibly preserve his environmental legacy, US President Barack Obama has put an "indefinite" ban on oil and gas...
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Professor Obama Salutes Greece, Democracy in Athens “Globalization” Speech
President (and today Professor of Government) Barack Obama concluded his Greece visit with an inspiring speech November 16 at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural...
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Obama’s Greece Visit – Dancing around the Greek debt minefield
First and foremost it was a great relief to see U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew step off the plane and quietly slip into the...
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Obama’s Greece Visit – Desperately Seeking Symbolism
Surely by now everyone has taken a deep breath and accepted Donald Trump’s victory on November 8. Most analysts needed a number of...
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Anti-OPEC Trump wild card for oil prices
Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election means his administration is likely to focus on domestic oil projects, leading to a prolonged period...
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Trump victory downgrades Syriza investment in Obama visit to “junk” status
It seems Greece’s Syriza government invested too much energy and hope in the Clinton family enterprise and that investment quickly went through the floor...
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Desperation over debt relief underlies Greek hopes for Obama’s Greece stop
While the world has focused on the closing days of the U.S. election campaign, in Athens advance teams from the White House and other...
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Low gas prices clog pipeline projects, EastMed’s Leviathan
ATHENS – Low gas prices have a limited effect on the planning of major pipeline projects, including plans to export gas from the East...
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Better Late than Never: Possible Obama Greece visit in November
Rumors surfaced October 18th in Washington that U.S. President Barack Obama may visit Athens around November 14-15. There has been no official announcement....
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For Greece’s PM Tsipras, Another Fruitless Run at the Debt Issue in New York
In serious trouble at home from a series of interconnected scandals and policy blunders, Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras turned to the annual UN...
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Jack Lew does Athens and urges continued reform, but promises nothing on debt
As promised by President Obama in Warsaw earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew concluded his post-Brexit vote European consultations and visited Athens for...
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Obama meets Tsipras in Warsaw, its NATO time, isn't it?
Another almost unnoticed (by Washington) Greece-U.S. bilateral meeting happened on the sidelines of the Warsaw NATO Summit July 9.
Although this meeting was barely on...
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Washington reiterates the UK and the EU will remain indispensable partners of the United States
The Obama White House released this brief statement early Friday: “The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision. The...
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Ukraine trumps Greece at Senate Hearing for U.S. Ambassador-Designate to Greece Pyatt
Greece-watchers were likely disappointed that Ukraine trumped Greece in the June 21 Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) confirmation hearings for several of the Obama...
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Trump to OPEC, Russia: Drop Dead or The Big Chillary
The outcome of the US general election this November could affect Washington’s energy policy and relations with Russia. Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump’s slogan...
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In Athens, Putin puts the full court press on EU
ATHENS – Russian President Vladimir Putin landed with a one-and-a-half hour delay in Greece on Friday, May 27, for a two-day visit aimed to boost...
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Go West! PM Tsipras Sends State Minister Pappas to the U.S. in search of a lifeline
If we have learned anything about the way Greek PM Alexis Tsipras operates, it this axiom: when times are tough it’s always smart to...
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U.S. Treasury's Nathan Sheets does Athens: Now what?
U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Nathan Sheets stopped in Athens May 11 and met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister...
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Putin brings his energy game to Athens
ATHENS - Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Greece on May 28 to boost Moscow’s energy relations with Athens and secure the...
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Greek Debt: What exactly did Treasury's Under Secretary Sheets mean about Greece and the IMF?
U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs Nathan Sheets faced a hardball question Wednesday, April 26 while at a hearing at the House of...
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