Over the past week, senior Trump administration officials have repeatedly cast Greece as a central node in the United States’ evolving energy strategy in Europe, citing recent agreements in Athens as a model for expanding American gas exports across the continent. 

The message surfaced first at a forum hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington and was reiterated days later at the Munich Security Conference, where White House energy officials publicly praised Greece’s role in advancing the so-called Vertical Corridor linking Southern and Eastern Europe to U.S. supply. 

Taken together, the appearances offer a clearer view of how the administration defines President Trump’s concept of American energy dominance: not only as domestic production strength, but as a framework for anchoring parts of Europe’s energy infrastructure to long-term American contracts. 

Whether that strategy can move at the pace officials suggest will depend on financing, regulatory coordination, and infrastructure capacity across several countries. For now, Greece is being cited in Washington as evidence that the approach can gain traction. 

The emphasis reflects structural considerations as much as diplomacy. Greece has expanded LNG import capacity, including floating regasification units, and sits at the southern edge of the Balkans with pipeline links capable of moving supply northward.  

For U.S. planners, that combination of port access, regional interconnections, and political alignment makes Greece a practical entry point into Southeastern Europe. 

 The Washington Forum 

At the forum hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum delivered the keynote address, while senior White House energy officials detailed efforts to expand U.S. liquefied natural gas flows through Greece and extend the Vertical Corridor north into Central and Eastern Europe. 

Jarrod Agen, Executive Director of the National Energy Dominance Council, described negotiations in Athens that stretched late into the night, saying the goal was to secure binding commitments tied to the corridor before delegations departed. 

The long-term LNG contract signed there is modest by American export standards. Within the administration, however, it is viewed as strategically useful because it locks in demand at a southern European node capable of feeding supply into Bulgaria and Romania. 

Officials also acknowledge that sustained engagement between Greek energy authorities and senior U.S. counterparts helped accelerate the process. In policy discussions here, Athens is increasingly referenced as an example of how alignment and infrastructure readiness can translate into durable agreements. 

 Extending the Corridor 

Mr. Agen said the next phase is to “look beyond the Greek borders.” 

Discussions are underway with Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine to extend the Vertical Corridor and convert it from concept into an operating supply architecture. The objective is to secure 10-to-20-year commitments that provide commercial predictability and signal durability. 

A Feb. 24 ministerial meeting in Washington is intended to advance that effort, followed by coordination at CERAWeek in Houston. 

Cross-border infrastructure, however, tends to move more slowly than diplomatic timelines. Pipeline capacity, regulatory approvals and long-term pricing structures require coordination among governments and private operators. Whether those hurdles can be resolved quickly will depend on sustained political coordination and market conditions. 

Reinforcement in Munich 

The emphasis on Greece carried beyond Washington. 

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Mr. Agen again highlighted the recent energy agreements between Athens and Washington and publicly praised Stavros Papastavrou, Greece’s Minister of Environment and Energy, who was present in the audience. He reiterated the importance of the Vertical Corridor as a conduit for U.S. LNG entering Greece and moving northward into Southeastern Europe and Ukraine. 

The repetition suggested that the administration’s focus on Greece is not confined to policy panels in Washington but is now part of its broader diplomatic messaging in Europe. 

3+1, IMEC and Regional Routes 

Back in Washington, the discussion widened beyond LNG flows. 

At the Foundation for Defense of Democracies event, Merav Ceren, Senior Director for International Energy Policy at the National Energy Dominance Council, linked gas exports to a broader set of infrastructure initiatives, including the 3+1 framework among Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the United States. She also referenced the India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor, or IMEC. 

Her remarks pointed to renewed executive branch attention to 3+1 cooperation after a period of lower visibility. Energy projects were presented alongside electricity interconnections, fiber networks, and transport corridors as parts of a wider connectivity map. 

Turkey entered that discussion as well. Ms. Ceren described potential routes passing through northeastern Syria into Turkey before linking to Europe, portraying Ankara as a possible node in future corridor planning. 

When asked about Ankara’s efforts to obstruct the Great Sea Interconnector, the planned electricity cable linking Greece, Cyprus and Israel, she did not respond directly to the question. Instead, she shifted to a broader description of how economic incentives and commercial corridors can help ease regional disputes. 

The approach appears to favor multiple pathways into Europe, even where they may compete, provided they expand supply options aligned with the United States. 

 Energy as Strategic Capacity 

Mr. Burgum placed the corridor strategy within a broader doctrine. 

He described energy sovereignty as maintaining sufficient domestic production to stabilize U.S. prices while enabling the United States to supply partners abroad. In that formulation, export capacity becomes strategic capacity. 

Energy policy, economic competitiveness, and national security are increasingly intertwined, he argued, particularly as electricity demand rises alongside artificial intelligence development. 

For Greece, the shift is tangible. Athens is being referenced in Washington as an operational node in a broader supply strategy aimed at reshaping parts of Europe’s energy map. 

Whether that network matures as officials anticipate will depend on market conditions, financing, and sustained political coordination. But over the past week, senior administration figures have left little doubt that Greece occupies a defined place in their evolving energy design.