Greece lines up additional gas supplies as Ukraine tensions rise

By Angeliki Koutantou

ATHENS -Greece has lined up further provides of pipeline fuel and liquefied pure fuel (LNG) ought to current plans be disrupted by the Ukraine disaster, a authorities spokesperson stated on Wednesday.

Western nations on Tuesday punished Russia with new sanctions for ordering troops into breakaway areas of japanese Ukraine and threatened to go additional if Moscow launched an all-out invasion.

In maybe probably the most vital measure introduced on Tuesday, Germany halted certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline owned by Russian state-owned fuel large Gazprom, a transfer prone to elevate fuel costs in Europe.

Greece imports 40% of its fuel from Russia and likewise has contracts with Azerbaijan and Algeria.

“We've made provisions for extra provides of LNG and (pipeline) pure fuel,” authorities spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou advised state tv.

He stated Greece would attempt to get as a lot fuel as it may well by way of a pipeline which runs from Azerbaijan to Italy.

Together with Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria might additionally present further LNG to Greece, a supply with information of the matter advised Reuters.

To stave off any disruption to electrical energy output, some gas-fired vegetation are prepared to change to diesel, Oikonomou added.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who mentioned the problem together with his Romanian counterpart in Bucharest, stated Europe ought to scale back its dependence on Russian fuel and there was room for a deeper cooperation with Romania, additionally a pure fuel producer.

Mitsotakis stated EU member states wanted to deal collectively with the matter of elevated electrical energy costs.

“We'd like a European response to an issue confronted by all EU members states,” he stated, including he would elevate the problem on the subsequent EU leaders’ assembly.

“Every nation has its personal means of coping with it nevertheless it’s an issue which is fiscally painful for all of them.”

Greece has to this point spent 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) to subsidise energy payments for households and companies going through hovering vitality costs.

($1 = 0.8824 euros)