ATHENS – “There is a need for diplomacy and Europe has an even greater need for diplomacy,” Alternate Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said on Tuesday in an interview with Open TV.

“The energy crisis that would result from a possible Russian-Ukrainian war would be very difficult for the member-states of the European Union to deal with, in terms of the quantities of natural gas that we have at our disposal,” said Varvitsiotis.

That is why Greece is preparing, he added, pointing out that all possible scenarios were examined in Monday’s meeting chaired by the prime minister for ensuring that Greece will have enough natural gas. At the same time, he stressed the need for a unified approach to the issue of energy efficiency at a European level.

Regarding the Greek community in Mariupol, Ukraine, the Alternate Minister pointed out that Greek expatriates have centuries-old roots in the region and that Mariupol is located on the border between the area of Russian separatists and the area still controlled by Kiev and putting it on the front line of a possible conflict.