Ukrainian Ambassador Calls on Greece to Shut Ports to Russia

Ukraine urges Greece to shut its ports to Russian vessels and stop doing business with Russian companies to increase pressure on Moscow to end the war, Ukraine's ambassador to Greece said on Wednesday.

"We ask Greece in particular to close the ports to Russian vessels... stop doing business with them and stop sending your ships to Russia," Sergii Shutenko told reporters.

New talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv on a status for Ukraine outside of NATO lifted hope on Wednesday for a potential breakthrough after three weeks of war.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday that sanctions against Russia by European Union countries would be implemented.

Hundreds of ethnic Greeks live in Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands remain trapped under bombardment without heat, power or water. 

"Accepting Russian money, you should be aware, that the blood of Ukrainian children, of Ukrainians and Greek Ukrainians in Mariupol is on these bank notes, on this money. Don't accept bloody money from Russia," Shutenko said.

With more than 4,500 vessels, Greece's merchant fleet is one of the largest in the world. The European Union has been considering a ban on Russian ships entering the bloc's ports.

(Reuters - Reporting by Renee Maltezou; editing by Jonathan Oatis)