Greece’s special envoy to Ukraine, Ambassador Spyros Lambridis, seemed confident that the impasse in U.S. Congress regarding the release of new aid to Kyiv will soon be overcome, speaking on Tuesday after his contacts in the U.S. capital.

Spyros Lambridis referred to the prospects and the role that Greece can play in the reconstruction effort on the “day after” the war, due to its geographical location and the historical and cultural ties that unite it with Ukraine. As he explained, “at some point a war ends. So what our country is doing right now with the European Union is to prepare for the day after.”

In particular, Greece can utilise its expertise in European matters to offer advisory services to Ukraine on adapting to the EU acquis, he said, adding that Greece has had similar experience in the case of countries in the Balkans that eventually joined the European Union, such as Bulgaria and Romania.

In addition, Greece can have a strong presence in investments related to energy, agriculture, technology, start-up entrepreneurship, and pharmaceutical companies, Lambridis noted. Particularly in relation to energy, he underlined the vertical energy axis that connects the northern Greek city of Alexandroupolis with Bulgaria and Romania. As he pointed out, this corridor has been extended towards Moldova and reaches the border of Ukraine.

“This makes Greece a huge energy hub in Eastern and Northern Europe and gives us many advantages. Ukrainians know this. We are already cooperating closely and on the Greek side, all the conditions are being created for a genuine, constructive and mutually profitable cooperation of both sides, as well as for joint production with Ukrainian bodies as soon as things calm down a little.”