The Government has taken measures to address the issue of increased prices and remains vigilant to take any other steps necessary, President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades said Friday, noting that the phenomenon is global and does not affect only Cyprus.

Speaking to the press after a service held for April 1st anniversary in Nicosia, the President said that there will be a special European Council meeting in May during which the European Commission will propose various ways of dealing with the phenomenon, which is affecting not only European countries, but the world at large. "We remain vigilant and we will take whatever measures are necessary", he noted.
 
Asked if Cyprus` natural gas reserves could be exploited in an effort for the EU to seek alternative energy sources ,  the President of the Republic said that this is an option, however it will take time. He went on to say that since companies need to invest, they should assess the situation properly and decide accordingly.
 
Cyprus, he added,  is fortunately not dependent on gas and while there may be a negative dependence on oil, this does not lead to the problems the rest of the gas-dependent countries in Europe are faced with.

Invited to say whether he thinks the US stance towards the EastMed pipeline may change in light of developments in Ukraine, the President said that  the decision will be made after the completion of the viability study in Europe,  the companies` study and an assessment in the US, which seems to affect some of the companies, as he said.

The President said that there are alternative ways of transportation adding also that Europe is already buying a quantity from America this year,  which will be transported by appropriately configured ships.