The United States' initial support for the EastMed pipeline project was folly, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu said Sunday, welcoming Washington's decision to withdraw its support.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the U.S.' retracting its support for the initiative, Sucuoğlu said: "It (the EastMed pipeline) was aiming to bypass Turkey and the TRNC. In short, it was hostility. Since it is not a project with economic sustainability, big states that tend to support it have withdrawn this support."

Recently, Greek sources told Reuters that the U.S. had voiced its concerns over the planned subsea pipeline to provide natural gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe, a project strongly opposed by Turkey.

The U.S. decision is an apparent U-turn on the project once supported by the Trump administration.

Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration and Israel have approved an agreement for the EastMed pipeline, which has been in the planning stage for several years. The countries had aimed to reach a final investment decision this year and have the 6 billion euro ($6.82 billion) scheme completed by 2025 to help Europe diversify its energy resources.