President Donald Trump has reshared on Truth Social an interview in which Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou praised U.S. energy diplomacy as a stabilizing geopolitical force — an endorsement that highlights a deepening strategic alignment between Washington and Athens, with Greece now targeting the full replacement of Russian gas imports by 2027.
In the interview with Breitbart News, conducted on the sidelines of the Delphi Economic Forum, Mr. Papastavrou described Trump's approach as a pragmatic "carrot and stick" strategy, arguing that deploying energy as a diplomatic lever curbs regional instability and marginalizes extremist actors.
"In Greece, we realized early on that energy is hardwired into national security," he said.
Mr. Papastavrou confirmed that the United States now supplies 85 percent of Greece's liquefied natural gas imports, and that Athens is accelerating offshore fossil fuel exploration in the Ionian Sea and off Crete in partnership with ExxonMobil and Chevron.
He said Greece is simultaneously scaling up renewables and battery storage — a dual-track approach he described as mirroring U.S. energy pragmatism.
Central to the Greece-U.S. energy relationship is the Vertical Corridor, an infrastructure network routing American LNG northward from Greek ports through the Balkans toward Ukraine — effectively reversing flows that once left Europe dependent on Moscow.
"The world woke up in 2022," Mr. Papastavrou said, referencing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has backed the corridor, saying long-term supply contracts set to expand this October will secure energy independence for 100 million Europeans.
Mr. Papastavrou said Greece aims to become the gateway through which Russian gas is fully replaced across the region by 2027.