Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Tuesday he was confident a deal would soon be found to keep Greece in the euro zone and even if it did exit, the currency bloc was now much better placed to withstand the shock.
Greece is running out of money and needs to find an agreement quickly with its European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders to grant it financial aid to prevent the risk of default and possible exit from the euro.
"I am confident we will get a deal soon," Padoan told CNBC in a television interview. "If there is an accident there might be some shockwaves in the system but the system is very strong, it is much stronger than it was when it all started in 2010 and 2012."
Padoan dismissed suggestions Italy would be next in line if Greece exited the euro zone and said signs of an increase in interest rates were not a threat for Italy's public debt.
He said rising interest rates should be seen as a "return to normalcy" and were good for the European and global economy in the longer term.
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