The Greek prime minister will travel to Russia to meet with his Russian counterpart to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras plan to discuss economic ties next week as Greek seeks to pay off it’s International Monetary Fund creditors in order to free up frozen bailout aid.
“The agenda for the Russian-Greek summit talks includes a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues, including trade, economic and investment cooperation, cultural and humanitarian ties, as well as topical international issues,” the Kremlin conveyed in a statement on Friday.
Russia, which is the largest importer of Greek goods, seeks to strengthen ties with its neighbor. Greece’s new left-wing government has said it will not seek aid from Moscow assuring its creditors that it will pay a loan tranche due on April 9 in order to unlock fresh funds, Greece’s deputy finance minister said on Friday. “We strive to be able to pay our obligations on time,” Dimitris Mardas told Greece’s Skai TV. “We are ready to pay on 9 April.” It will be Tsipras’ first visit to the Russian capital after his leftist Syriza party swept to victory in a snap election in January.
Reuters reported Friday that both leaders also discuss the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow due to the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian government is seeking support from EU members to lift the sanctions, namely from Hungary and Greece. They will also talk about the Greece debt, although the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to talk about any financial aid from Moscow to Athens. However, Greece’s new left-wing government has in previous occasions said it will not seek aid from Moscow.
