http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67317

At the conclusion of early December 2021 discussions between Russia and Greece, Vladimir Putin and Kyriakos Mitsotakis made statements for the press and answered journalists’ questions.

8 December 2021 17:10 Sochi

Summary of opening remarks and answers to follow-on questions from reporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis:

During his opening remarks, Putin noted the part that Russia had played in aiding Greece in its fight for independence, which culminated in Russia’s being the first country to recognize Greece’s independence in 1828. Putin also noted that their two countries were connected by spiritual and cultural ties.

In line with Russia-Greece economic relations, Putin asserted that mutual trade had grown 56%, equaling $3.2 billion, which almost reached the pre-pandemic level. In addition, Russian investments in Greece comprised almost $650 million, in line with which a mixed commission on economic, industrial, and scientific-technical collaboration was working to encourage reciprocal trade diversification and investment.

Special attention was given to the energy sector, which, according to Putin, supplied 40% of Greece’s demand in natural gas, deliveries of which were now being made via the new TurkStream pipeline. In fact, deliveries had increased by 12% in 2021 to three billion cubic meters.

Noted also was the emergency assistance Russia had provided Greece in response to the widespread forest fires in Greece.

Regarding Greece as a tourist destination for Russians, Putin expressed thanks that Greek authorities had decided to recognize Russian certificates of vaccination with the “Sputnik V” vaccine.

Putin announced that Russia would transfer to Greece the archives of that country’s Jewish community, which had been taken by the Nazis to Germany and had been in Moscow since 1945.

Putin noted that regarding international issues, broached had been relations between Russia and the EU, the situation in the Balkans as well as that in the Eastern Mediterranean.

For his part, Mitsotakis expressed the opinion that his meeting with Putin was yet another bridge for strengthening relations between the countries’ peoples and broadening collaboration between their governments. Also mentioning the 200^th anniversary of Greek independence, which, he added, was from the Ottoman yoke, Mitsotakis referred to the role that Russia, which shared a common faith with Greece, had played in Greece’s struggle for independence.

In thanking Putin for Russia’s response to the forest fires in Greece, Mitsotakis attributed the fires to be the consequence of the escalation of the climatic situation. In keeping with the theme of recent catastrophic events, he stated that the leaders, because of the pandemic, had discussed cooperating in the field of health care as well as minimizing the negative consequences of the pandemic on society through economic measures.

Mitsotakis also brought attention to the important role Russia played as a deliverer of natural gas to Greece.

Mitsotakis was pointed in his remarks regarding regional international collaboration pertaining to the Eastern Mediterranean, referring to Turkey’s recent aggressive rhetoric. He said that Greece was open to dialogue, which observed international rights and the Convention on the Law of the Sea, saying these were the fundamental factors for achieving any agreement.

As for the Cyprus issue, which he termed an extremely important national priority for Greece, Russia’s position was consequential and constructive, Mitsotakis stated. He had reiterated during his discussion with Putin that the desired goal was a UN Security Council resolution that required the withdrawal of Turkish military forces and the maintenance of a bizonal, bicommunal structure. Another facet of the Cyprus issue was the closed city, Varosha; Turkey’s continued announcements about populating it would hinder prospects for progress.

Mitsotakis argued for the necessity of communication regarding Russia’s relationship with the EU and with NATO. As for the worsening situation in Ukraine, he called for the Minsk Agreements to be observed, one reason for his interest in a resolution and that the situation in the region not be further aggravated being a large number of Greeks in the region.

Also addressed was the situation in the western Balkans and in Libya, where the opportunity to conduct elections must be taken advantage of.

The questions that ensued from press representatives at the conclusion of the opening remarks provided further insights:

To a question regarding how Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, assessed the situation in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean, Putin responded that resolving the Cyprus issue and other, less-pressing issues regarding the islands was through dialogue. As for Libya, Russia was going forward on the assumption that the planned intragovernmental measures and elections would take place as scheduled, which, in turn, would lead to stabilizing the country. Russia was in contact with the leading countries of the EU as well as Turkey in the hope of finding suitable solutions that would lead to long-term stability.

For his part, Mitsotakis voiced his concern about the disagreement with Turkey regarding the delimitation of sea boundaries, an issue, he noted, which also concerned Egypt.

Putin next responded to a question from an Interfax reporter concerning Russia’s bilateral relationship with Greece being threatened, since Greece was a member of the EU and NATO, especially, given that the latter organization was conducting a clearly confrontational course in its relationship to Russia. And, secondly, was it Putin’s opinion that his conversation the day before with the U.S. President could lead to lowering the temperature in Russia’s confrontation with the West when considering the topic of “red lines”?

First, Putin was confident that, based on its track record, Greece would continue to take, to the extent possible, a considered and objective position regarding Russia’s interaction with the EU.

On the other hand, Putin charged, that having declared Russia its enemy, NATO was conducting a clearly confrontational policy toward Russia. That being the case, Putin expressed his hope that Greece would take a position of restraint within the alliance, just as it had as a member of the EU. Putin maintained that Greece’s membership in the two organizations had never affected their bilateral relations; in fact, based on their friendship, Russia would focus on the fact that Russia would use Greece so that it could play a positive role in Russia’s relations with both organizations.

As for his conversation with the U.S. President, Putin first mentioned that they had broached the situation in southeast Ukraine, and in connection with that, the very sensitive issue of NATO’s expansion eastward. This, Putin argued, was unacceptable from both a security and strategic standpoint, since such an expansion violated Russia’s interests and undermined its security. Putin and the U.S. President agreed to continue this discussion.

Cybersecurity was discussed in detail.

Next, noting that they had discussed the Iran problem, Putin acknowledged that he was counting on his invitation to the Iranian President to visit Russia at the beginning of 2022 being accepted.

Putin evaluated his discussion with the U.S. President as being open, objective, and constructive. He noted that there was the opportunity to continue their dialogue, which he deemed most important.

For his part, Mitsotakis made clear that there were many areas, in which Greece and Russia could collaborate and which would not necessarily impinge directly on Russia’s relations with NATO or the EU.

The Greek Prime Minister stated that the creation and acceptance of some sort of “road map” and the lessening of tensions was a common goal,

Finally, to a question posed by a Kommersant reporter, whether Russia planned to invade Ukraine or not and to explain Russia’s reason, why or why not, and which Putin considered provocative, he responded that Russia conducted a peaceful foreign policy. However, while admitting that he was speaking in general terms, Putin built a scenario, in which, just as the MK41 antimissile defense system had been deployed to Poland and Romania, upon Ukraine’s joining NATO, Russia’s security would be put in jeopardy due to the deployment of military contingents, bases, and weapons there.

Putin concluded his remarks by confirming that he had agreed with the proposal of the U.S. President to develop a structure to handle the situation.

The documents that were signed called for cooperation on a broad range of topics, from energy to fighting terrorism and criminal activity in all its manifestations to reciprocal cultural endeavors.

Click here for a full translation of the above summary as well as a translation of the documents signed by Putin and Mitsotakis.

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