Energy ministers from the United States, Greece and 11 other European countries agreed to strengthen natural gas supply security in Central and Eastern Europe through the vertical corridor, signing a joint declaration aimed at boosting regional energy resilience.

The statement was endorsed by energy ministers and representatives of Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, Ukraine, Croatia, Lithuania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, alongside the United States.

The Greek government was represented by Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou.

The declaration underscores the need to fully utilize existing infrastructure and to lift regulatory barriers that hinder natural gas imports. It makes specific reference to Ukraine’s underground gas storage facilities, stressing that they should be integrated into regional gas markets and developed into a commercial trading hub to support the country’s economic recovery and reconstruction.

The joint statement was signed on the sidelines of the “Transatlantic Gas Security Summit,” a ministerial meeting organized at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington by the White House and the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC).

The summit is chaired by U.S. Interior Secretary and head of the National Energy Dominance Council Doug Burgum and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.