“In the face of the Greeks we see responsible partners who are interested in multifaceted cooperation with us,” said Russian Ambassador to Athens Andrei Maslov to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. “We focus our efforts specifically on them: trade and investment, energy, cultural-humanitarian relations, prevention and elimination of the effects of emergencies, tourism and much more.”
“Greece’s accession to NATO, of course, can only add some artificial limiting factors to our bilateral cooperation,” A. Maslov said, noting that this has always been the case since Greece joined the North Atlantic Alliance. “.
The Russian ambassador described last year as “unusually rich in contacts at the highest and highest level” between Athens and Moscow, despite the pandemic, and recalled Russia’s representation in the 200th anniversary of the 1821 Revolution in March 2021 by the prime minister. Mikhail Misustin, as well as the contacts of Foreign Ministers Nikos Dendias with Sergei Lavrov, but above all the meeting of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi in December. “Mr. Mitsotakis visited Russia for the first time as Prime Minister” and at the end of the talks between the two men “a comprehensive transnational Action Plan for the years 2022-24 was adopted and work has already begun to implement the agreements “, which were achieved”, said Mr. Maslov to “RIA-Novosti”.
The Year of Greek-Russian History, which was symbolically dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution of 1821 and was decided by the leaders of the two countries Mr. Mitsotakis and V. Putin to be extended and to end solemnly in Moscow in the middle of 2022 , is the fourth consecutive “thematic” year between the two countries since 2016, reminded the Russian ambassador. “We expect other bright events, which will emphasize the common history of the Russian and Greek peoples and will contribute to the consolidation of cultural and humanitarian ties,” said A. Maslov, highlighting the upcoming premiere of the documentary, which was shot in October. of 2021 by the participants of the mission “The Cesme Flame” with the sailing-replica of the frigate of St. Peter “Standard”, which repeated the route of the Russian imperial fleet in the years 1770-1774, but also the exhibition of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the Greeks, who participated in the military operations of the Russian Fleet in the Aegean.
The Russian ambassador in Athens estimated that “indeed, in the media of many Western countries, at the instigation of the official authorities, a communication attack is being developed against Russia in order to tarnish our country and present its policy in a distorted form”, but “in Greece We observe a similar anti-Russian hysteria “, as” the ground in Greece is not conducive to anti-Russian propaganda “, because” the people of the country preserve the memory of the glorious pages of our common history, feel the spiritual closeness with the Russian people and simply do not respond to harmful myths “.
Asked about the role of the Alexandroupolis base in the developments in Ukraine and whether there is “concern” of the Russian side, Mr. Maslov said that the discussion with the diplomatic channels with Greece on the “written security guarantees” that the Moscow reiterated that “the key issue is to adhere to the principle of indivisible security”, as set out in the Charter for European Security, adopted by the OSCE Summit in Istanbul in 1999, which stipulates that has the right of free choice, or change of the way of securing his security […] provided that it does not enhance its security to the detriment of the security of others “.
“We can not accept the approaches of Western countries, which extract from this set of interrelated conditions only the positions that are advantageous to them and in particular the right of states to freely choose alliances,” the Russian ambassador said. of the agreements on the indivisibility of security lies in whether it is common to all or does not exist for anyone. ”
As for the “concern” you are asking about, it must be felt precisely by the countries themselves, which are giving up their territory for use as a transit station for the transport of personnel, equipment and technical means to SE Europe. “In the past, the countries of the region more responsibly and calmly assessed the potential consequences for themselves from similar steps,” said A. Maslov, who replied categorically that “we do not know of any plans by Greece to install “nuclear weapons on its territory and in our dialogue with Athens there is no such issue.”
Regarding the prospects of tourism from Russia, Mr. Maslov noted that the issue of full restoration of the program of special summer flights (charter) is being considered and it is understandable that tourist flows are restored, but not as fast as the Russian citizens and Greek professionals, however, will all depend on the course of the epidemiological data. The volume of bilateral exchanges increased in the first 11 months of 2021 by 52.5% and reached $ 3.8 billion, a pre-pandemic size, said the Russian ambassador, who referred extensively and praised the cooperation to date for firefighting needs. in Greece, considering that there is mutual interest for its continuation, however he wished that “it would be better not to have big fires this year” in Greece.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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