国际英语新闻:Pompeo attends Mideast summit in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, March 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended a summit with Israeli, Greek, and Cypriot heads of states in Jerusalem on Wednesday, discussing a natural gas pipeline.

The meeting was attended by Pompeo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

"The leaders discussed regional issues and deepening the cooperation between the countries," according to a statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

The four talked about plans to construct a natural gas pipeline, called the East-Med Pipeline, which will carry gas from Israel's natural gas reservoirs to Europe via Cyprus and Greece.

Netanyahu said in a statement that the planned pipeline would "benefit our economies... and diversify Europe's source of energy."

He added that Pompeo's participation in the meeting has "great importance" because it "symbolizes the U.S.' support to the regional effort."

The meeting was part of a series of encounters by leaders from Israel, Cyprus, and Greece, in which they discussed regional cooperation. The recent meeting marked the sixth time the triangle meeting was held, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.