US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will soon visit Israel to help with its plan for exporting natural gas to Europe with Cypriot and Greek partners, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.
Israel is hoping to enlist several European countries in the construction of a 2,000 kilometer (1,243 miles) pipeline linking vast eastern Mediterranean gas resources to Europe at a cost of $7 billion.
"In a few days, the leaders of Cyprus and Greece will come here, together with ... Pompeo, to advance a gas pipeline from Israel to Europe via these countries," Netanyahu told naval cadets in the port city of Haifa.
Sources in Tel Aviv confirmed that Pompeo will squeeze into his Middle East tour a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the context of intensifying contacts between the two sides over the Middle East peace plan, dubbed the ‘deal of the century’.
The White House announced on Wednesday that Pompeo’s tour will include Israel, Lebanon, and Kuwait, without disclosing the objectives of the visit. Washington, however, has denied any connection between the top diplomat’s visit to Israel with upcoming elections there, scheduled for April 9.
The Israeli source highlighted the significance of Pompeo’s meeting with Netanyahu, merely days ahead of the latter’s visit to the US for attending the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference.
In Washington, the State Department stressed that Pompeo's visit should not be interpreted as an attempt to interfering in Israeli elections.
An upcoming visit to Israel by Pompeo is not meant to send any message to the Israeli electorate before the upcoming elections, State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said.
“No message. Israel is an ally. We’re not going to get involved in the domestic politics of another country.”
He did not give precise dates for Pompeo’s trip. Palladino, however, noted that Pompeo’s trip to Kuwait was a continuation of a visit he took to Arab Gulf states in January that was cut short because of family reasons.
