ATHENS – Greece wants the International Crime Court (ICC) in The Hague in The Netherlands to investigate possible war crimes in the Ukraine’s southern port city of Mariupol by Russian invaders, which is home to some 150,000 ethnic Greeks.

“Greece will ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague to investigate war crimes committed in Mariupol,” Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said as he arrived a a meeting of NATO foreign chiefs in Brussels.

Western countries and NGOs have been calling for a humanitarian corridor to help evacuate civilians in the besides city and provide relief, but Russia has not yet agreed to the move, noted Kathimerini in a report.

Dendias also said he would ask his NATO colleagues “to try our best to help Ukraine to protect Odessa, so that Odessa can avoid the fate of Mariupol,” but Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy’s request for more weapons has gone unheeded.

When asked how can NATO colleagues help with this, he said “by giving Ukraine the adequate means to protect the city,” without saying what that would be with Greece also rejecting sending anti-aircraft weapons to help.

“I have to say, they are willing and able to protect the city, provided that we provide them with the adequate means,” he added without explaining why that hasn’t happened and critics said NATO is sitting on its hands.

The defense alliance had reached out to Ukraine to begin the process at some point of joining, which is said to be a key reason why Russian President Vladimir Putin made a pre-emptive invasion to prevent that.

​​​​​​Ukraine will urge the West to impose a full embargo on gas and oil exports from Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said as he asked for more weapons to be provided but isn’t getting them.

“We will continue to insist on a full embargo on oil and gas,” he told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, in the presence of Alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg who has offered only words of support and nothing else.