II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1102 

To promote security and energy partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 10, 2019 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To promote security and energy partnerships in the Eastern 

Mediterranean, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eastern Mediterranean 

5 Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The security of partners and allies in the 

9 Eastern Mediterranean region is critical to the secu10 rity of the United States and Europe. 


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1 (2) Greece is a valuable member of the North 

2 Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a key pil3 lar of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

4 (3) Israel is a steadfast ally of the United 

5 States and has been designated a ‘‘major non-NATO 

6 ally’’ and ‘‘major strategic partner’’. 

7 (4) Cyprus is a key strategic partner and 

8 signed a Statement of Intent with the United States 

9 on November 6, 2018, to enhance bilateral security 

10 cooperation. 

11 (5) The countries of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel 

12 have participated in critical trilateral summits to im13 prove cooperation on energy and security issues. 

14 (6) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo partici15 pated in the trilateral summit among Israel, Greece, 

16 and Cyprus on March 20, 2019. 

17 (7) All four countries oppose any action in the 

18 Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea that 

19 could challenge stability, violate international law, or 

20 undermine good neighborly relations, and in a joint 

21 declaration on March 21, 2019, agreed to ‘‘defend 

22 against external malign influences in the Eastern 

23 Mediterranean and the broader Middle East’’. 

24 (8) The recent discovery of potentially the re25 gion’s largest natural gas field off the Egyptian 


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1 coast and the newest discoveries of natural gas off 

2 the Cypriot coast could represent a significant posi3 tive development for the Eastern Mediterranean and 

4 the Middle East, enhancing the region’s strategic en5 ergy significance. 

6 (9) Turkish government officials have expressed 

7 an intent to purchase the S–400 system from the 

8 Russian Federation, which could trigger the imposi9 tion of mandatory sanctions under the Countering 

10 America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Pub11 lic Law 115–44). 

12 (10) It is in the national security interests of 

13 the United States to promote, achieve, and maintain 

14 energy security among, and through cooperation 

15 with, allies. 

16 (11) Natural gas developments in the Eastern 

17 Mediterranean have the potential to provide eco18 nomic gains and contribute to energy security in the 

19 region and Europe, as well as support European ef20 forts to diversify away from natural gas supplied by 

21 the Russian Federation. 

22 (12) The soon to be completed Trans Adriatic 

23 Pipeline is a critical component of the Southern Gas 

24 Corridor and the European Union’s efforts to diver25 sify energy resources. 


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1 (13) The proposed Eastern Mediterranean pipe2 line if commercially viable would provide for energy 

3 diversification in accordance with the European 

4 Union’s third energy package of reforms. 

5 (14) The United States acknowledges the 

6 achievements and importance of the Binational In7 dustrial Research and Development Foundation 

8 (BIRD) and the United States-Israel Binational 

9 Science Foundation (BSF) and supports continued 

10 multiyear funding to ensure the continuity of the 

11 programs of the Foundations. 

12 (15) The United States has welcomed Greece’s 

13 allocation of 2 percent of its gross domestic product 

14 (GDP) to defense in accordance with commitments 

15 made at the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales. 

16 (16) Energy exploration in the Eastern Medi17 terranean region must be safeguarded against 

18 threats posed by terrorist and extremist groups, in19 cluding Hezbollah and any other actor in the region. 

20 (17) The energy exploration in the Republic of 

21 Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial 

22 waters— 

23 (A) furthers United States interests by 

24 providing a potential alternative to Russian gas 

25 for United States allies and partners; and 


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1 (B) should not be impeded by other sov2 ereign states. 

3 (18) The United States Government cooperates 

4 closely with the Government of the Republic of Cy5 prus through information sharing agreements. 

6 (19) United States officials have assisted the 

7 Government of the Republic of Cyprus with crafting 

8 that nation’s national security strategy. 

9 (20) The United States Government provides 

10 training to Cypriot officials in areas such as cyberse11 curity, counterterrorism, and explosive ordnance dis12 posal and stockpile management. 

13 (21) The Republic of Cyprus is a valued mem14 ber of the Proliferation Security Initiative to combat 

15 the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction. 

16 (22) The Republic of Cyprus continues to work 

17 closely with the United Nations and regional part18 ners in Europe to combat terrorism and violent ex19 tremism. 

20 (23) Despite robust economic and security rela21 tions with the United States, the Republic of Cyprus 

22 has been subject to a United States prohibition on 

23 the export of defense articles and services since 

24 1987. 


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1 (24) The 1987 arms prohibition was designed 

2 to restrict United States arms sales and transfer to 

3 the Republic of Cyprus and the occupied part of Cy4 prus to avoid hindering reunification efforts. 

5 (25) At least 40,000 Turkish troops are sta6 tioned in the occupied part of Cyprus with some 

7 weapons procured from the United States through 

8 mainland Turkey. 

9 (26) While the United States has, as a matter 

10 of policy, avoided the provision of defense articles 

11 and services to the Republic of Cyprus, the Govern12 ment of Cyprus has, in the past, sought to obtain 

13 defense articles from other countries, including coun14 tries, such as Russia, that pose challenges to United 

15 States interests around the world. 

16 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

17 It is the policy of the United States— 

18 (1) to continue to actively participate in the tri19 lateral dialogue on energy, maritime security, cyber 

20 security and protection of critical infrastructure con21 ducted among Israel, Greece and Cyprus; 

22 (2) to support diplomatic efforts with partners 

23 and allies to deepen energy security cooperation 

24 among Greece, Cyprus, and Israel and to encourage 


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1 the private sector to make investments in energy in2 frastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean region; 

3 (3) to strongly support the completion of the 

4 Trans Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean Pipelines 

5 and the establishment of liquified natural gas (LNG) 

6 terminals across the Eastern Mediterranean as a 

7 means of diversifying regional energy needs away 

8 from the Russian Federation; 

9 (4) to maintain a robust United States naval 

10 presence and investments in the naval facility at 

11 Souda Bay, Greece and develop deeper security co12 operation with the latter to include the recent MQ– 

13 9 deployments to the Larissa Air Force Base and 

14 United States Army helicopter training in central 

15 Greece; 

16 (5) to welcome Greece’s commitment to move 

17 forward with the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria 

18 (IGB pipeline) and additional LNG terminals that 

19 will help facilitate delivery of non-Russian gas to the 

20 Balkans and central Europe; 

21 (6) to support deepened security cooperation 

22 with the Republic of Cyprus through the removal of 

23 the arms embargo on the country; 


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1 (7) to support robust International Military 

2 Education and Training (IMET) programming with 

3 Greece and the Republic of Cyprus; 

4 (8) to leverage relationships within the Euro5 pean Union to encourage investments in Cypriot bor6 der and maritime security; 

7 (9) to support efforts to counter Russian Fed8 eration Government interference and influence in the 

9 Eastern Mediterranean through increased security 

10 cooperation with Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, to in11 clude intelligence sharing, cyber, and maritime do12 main awareness; 

13 (10) to support the Republic of Cyprus efforts 

14 to regulate its banking industry to ensure that it is 

15 not used as a source of international money laun16 dering and encourages additional measures toward 

17 that end; 

18 (11) to strongly oppose any actions that would 

19 trigger mandatory sanctions pursuant to section 231 

20 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through 

21 Sanctions Act (CAATSA) (Public Law 115–44), to 

22 include the purchase by Turkey of an S–400 system 

23 from the Russian Federation; 

24 (12) to continue robust official strategic en25 gagement with Israel, Greece, and Cyprus; 


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1 (13) to urge countries in the region to deny 

2 port services to the Russian Federation vessels de3 ployed to support the government of Bashar Al4 Assad in Syria; 

5 (14) to support joint military exercises among 

6 Israel, Greece, and Cyprus; 

7 (15) to fully implement relevant CAATSA pro8 visions to prevent interference by the Government of 

9 the Russian Federation in the region; 

10 (16) to support efforts by countries in the re11 gion to demobilize military equipment supplied by 

12 the Government of the Russian Federation in favor 

13 of equipment provided by NATO and NATO-allied 

14 member countries; and 

15 (17) to strongly support the active and robust 

16 participation of Israel, Cyprus, and Greece in the 

17 Combating Terrorism Fellowship Program. 

18 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN EN19 ERGY COOPERATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con21 sultation with the Secretary of Energy, may enter into co22 operative agreements supporting and enhancing dialogue 

23 and planning involving international partnerships between 

24 the United States and Israel, Greece, and Cyprus. 


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1 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—If the Secretary of State, in 

2 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, enters into 

3 agreements authorized under subsection (a), the Secretary 

4 shall submit an annual report to the appropriate congres5 sional committees that describes— 

6 (1) actions taken to implement such agree7 ments; and 

8 (2) any projects undertaken pursuant to such 

9 agreements. 

10 (c) UNITED STATES-EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN EN11 ERGY CENTER.—The Secretary of Energy, in consultation 

12 with the Secretary of State, may establish a joint United 

13 States-Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center in the 

14 United States leveraging the experience, knowledge, and 

15 expertise of institutions of higher education and entities 

16 in the private sector, among others, in offshore energy de17 velopment to further dialogue and collaboration to develop 

18 more robust academic cooperation in energy innovation 

19 technology and engineering, water science, technology 

20 transfer, and analysis of emerging geopolitical implica21 tions, which include opportunities as well as crises and 

22 threats from foreign natural resource and energy acquisi23 tions. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPEAL OF PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF ARTI2 CLES ON THE UNITED STATES MUNITIONS 

3 LIST TO THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS. 

4 (a) SENSE OF THE SENATE ON CYPRUS.—It is the 

5 sense of the Senate that— 

6 (1) the direct sale or transfer of arms by the 

7 United States to the Republic of Cyprus would ad8 vance United States security interests in Europe by 

9 helping to reduce the dependence of the Government 

10 of Cyprus on other countries for defense-related ma11 teriel, including countries that pose challenges to 

12 United States interests around the world; and 

13 (2) it is in the interest of the United States— 

14 (A) to continue to support United Nations15 facilitated efforts toward a comprehensive solu16 tion to the division of Cyprus; and 

17 (B) for the Republic of Cyprus to join 

18 NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. 

19 (b) MODIFICATION OF PROHIBITION.—Section 

20 620C(e) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

21 2373(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

22 new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(3) The requirement under paragraph (1) shall not 

24 apply to any sale or other provision of any defense article 

25 or service to Cyprus if the end-user of such defense article 

26 or service is the Republic of Cyprus.’’. 


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1 (c) EXCLUSION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RE2 PUBLIC OF CYPRUS FROM CERTAIN RELATED REGULA3 TIONS.—Beginning on the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act, the Secretary of State shall not apply a policy of de5 nial for exports, re-exports, or transfers of defense articles 

6 and defense services destined for the Republic of Cyprus 

7 if— 

8 (1) the request is made by or on behalf of the 

9 Republic of Cyprus; and 

10 (2) the end-user of such defense articles or de11 fense services is the Republic of Cyprus. 

12 SEC. 6. IMET COOPERATION WITH GREECE AND CYPRUS. 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 

14 2020 $2,000,000 for International Military Education and 

15 Training (IMET) assistance for Greece and $2,000,000 

16 for such assistance for Cyprus. The assistance shall be 

17 made available for the following purposes: 

18 (1) Training of future leaders. 

19 (2) Fostering a better understanding of the 

20 United States. 

21 (3) Establishing a rapport between the United 

22 States military and the country’s military to build 

23 alliances for the future. 

24 (4) Enhancement of interoperability and capa25 bilities for joint operations. 


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1 (5) Focusing on professional military education. 

2 (6) Enabling countries to use their national 

3 funds to receive a reduced cost for other Department 

4 of Defense education and training. 

5 (7) Provision of English Language Training as6 sistance. 

7 SEC. 7. FOREIGN MILITARY FINANCING. 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 

9 2020 $3,000,000 for Foreign Military Financing (FMF) 

10 assistance for Greece to assist the country in meeting its 

11 commitment as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty 

12 Organization (NATO) to dedicate 20 percent of its de13 fense budget to enhance research and development. 

14 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF F–35 AIRCRAFT TO 

15 TURKEY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub17 section (b), no funds may be obligated or expended— 

18 (1) to transfer, facilitate the transfer, or au19 thorize the transfer of, an F–35 aircraft to the Re20 public of Turkey; 

21 (2) to transfer intellectual property or technical 

22 data necessary for or related to any maintenance or 

23 support of the F–35 aircraft; or 


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1 (3) to construct a storage facility for, or other2 wise facilitate the storage in Turkey of, an F–35 air3 craft transferred to Turkey. 

4 (b) EXCEPTION.—The President may waive the limi5 tation under subsection (a) upon a written certification to 

6 Congress that the Government of Turkey does not plan 

7 or intend to accept delivery of the S–400 air defense sys8 tem. 

9 (c) TRANSFER DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

10 ‘‘transfer’’ includes the physical relocation outside of the 

11 continental United States. 

12 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The limitation under sub13 section (a) does not apply to F–35 aircraft operated by 

14 the United States Armed Forces. 

15 SEC. 9. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON PURCHASE BY TURKEY 

16 OF S–400 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM. 

17 It is the sense of the Senate that, if the Government 

18 of Turkey purchases the S–400 air defense system from 

19 the Russian Federation— 

20 (1) such a purchase would constitute a signifi21 cant transaction within the meaning of section 

22 231(a) of the Countering Russian Influence in Eu23 rope and Eurasia Act of 2017 (22 U.S.C. 9525(a)); 

24 (2) such a purchase would endanger the integ25 rity of the NATO alliance; 


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1 (3) such a purchase would adversely affect on2 going operations of the United States Armed Forces, 

3 including coalition operations in which the United 

4 States Armed Forces participate; 

5 (4) such a purchase would result in a signifi6 cant impact to defense cooperation between the 

7 United States and Turkey; 

8 (5) such a purchase would significantly increase 

9 the risk of compromising United States defense sys10 tems and operational capabilities; and 

11 (6) the President should faithfully execute the 

12 Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eur13 asia Act of 2017 by imposing and applying sanctions 

14 under section 235 of that Act (22 U.S.C. 9529) with 

15 respect to any individual or entity determined to 

16 have engaged in such a significant transaction. 

17 SEC. 10. STRATEGY ON UNITED STATES SECURITY AND EN18 ERGY COOPERATION IN THE EASTERN MEDI19 TERRANEAN. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

22 in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Sec23 retary of Energy, shall submit to the appropriate congres24 sional committees a strategy on enhanced security and enVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1102.IS S1102

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1 ergy cooperation with countries in the Eastern Mediterra2 nean region, including Israel, Cyprus, and Greece. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub4 section (a) shall include the following elements: 

5 (1) A description of United States participation 

6 in and support for the Eastern Mediterranean Nat7 ural Gas Forum. 

8 (2) An evaluation of all possible delivery mecha9 nisms into Europe for natural gas discoveries in the 

10 Eastern Mediterranean region. 

11 (3) An evaluation of efforts to protect energy 

12 exploration infrastructure in the region, including 

13 United States companies. 

14 (4) An assessment of the capacity of Cyprus to 

15 host an Energy Crisis Center in the region which 

16 could provide basing facilities in support search and 

17 rescue efforts in the event of an accident. 

18 (5) An assessment of the timing of natural gas 

19 delivery in the region as well as assessment of the 

20 ultimate destination countries for the natural gas 

21 delivery from the region. 

22 (6) A plan to work with United States busi23 nesses seeking to invest in Eastern Mediterranean 

24 energy exploration, development, and cooperation. 


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1 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

3 a classified annex. 

4 SEC. 11. REPORT ON RUSSIAN FEDERATION MALIGN INFLU5 ENCE IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

8 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

9 a report on Russian Federation malign influence in Cy10 prus, Greece, and Israel since January 1, 2017. 

11 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub12 section (a) shall include the following elements: 

13 (1) An assessment of security, political, and en14 ergy goals of the Government of the Russian Fed15 eration in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

16 (2) A description of energy projects of the Gov17 ernment of the Russian Federation in the Eastern 

18 Mediterranean. 

19 (3) A listing of Russian national ownership of 

20 media outlets in these countries, including the name 

21 of the media outlet, approximate viewership, and as22 sessment of whether the outlet promotes pro-Krem23 lin views. 

24 (4) An assessment of military engagement by 

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1 curity sector, including engagement by military 

2 equipment and personnel contractors. 

3 (5) An assessment of efforts supported by the 

4 Government of the Russian Federation to influence 

5 elections in the three countries, through the use of 

6 cyber attacks, social media campaigns, or other ma7 lign influence techniques. 

8 (6) An assessment of efforts by the Government 

9 of the Russian Federation to intimidate and influ10 ence the decision by His All Holiness Ecumenical 

11 Patriarch Bartholomew, leader of 300,000,000 Or12 thodox Christians worldwide, to grant autocephaly to 

13 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. 

14 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

15 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

16 a classified annex. 

17 SEC. 12. REPORT ON INTERFERENCE BY OTHER COUN18 TRIES IN THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE 

19 OF CYPRUS AND AIRSPACE OF GREECE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

22 in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Sec23 retary of Energy, shall submit to the appropriate congres24 sional committees a report listing incidents of interference 

25 in efforts by the Republic of Cyprus to explore and exploit 


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1 natural resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone and vio2 lations of the airspace of the sovereign territory of Greece. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub4 section (a) shall include the following elements: 

5 (1) A listing of incidents since January 1, 

6 2017, determined by the Secretary of State to inter7 fere in efforts by the Republic of Cyprus to explore 

8 and exploit natural resources in its Exclusive Eco9 nomic Zone. 

10 (2) A listing of incidents since January 1, 

11 2017, determined by the Secretary of State to be 

12 violations of the airspace of Greece by its neighbors. 

13 (c) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 

14 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

15 a classified annex. 

16 SEC. 13. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES. 

17 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees means’’ the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

19 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

20 House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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