Rick Perry (USA): Energy sector, not to be used as coercion means or threat

The energy sector should not be used as a coercion means or as a threat to national security, US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry stated on Tuesday. 

He held a joint press conference alongside President Iohannis, Croatia's President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and Prime Minister of the Polish gov't Mateusz Morawiecki on the occasion of the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Bucharest. 

We want countries in Central and Eastern Europe to know they can count on the United States of America as trustworthy partner in the energy sector. (...) Energy security is tied to national security. Transatlantic energy security is fundamental for any country's national security. The energy sector should not be used as a coercion means or as a threat to national security. It is all the more true for this region, in which nations in the centre and eastern part of Europe are facing challenges related to the existence of a sole supplier, Rick Perry said. 

Moreover, he mentioned Russia's influence in this domain. 

According to him, energy diversification also means security and this is the reason why the United States support the fundamental principle of the Three Seas Initiative, namely energy diversification. 

Just as President Trump said last year at the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, the United States will never use energy as a coercion means on your nations and we cannot allow others to do this, Rick Perry underscored. 

In context, Rick Perry talked about the recent partnership project for energy transatlantic cooperation within which the United States will cooperate with European states, in close relation with the European Commission.