ATHENS: Greece and Russia have signed a trade deal of €4.2 billion and discussed the renewal of the deal for natural gas supply to Greece.
After the discussions between the two delegations, Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked to the press. Tsipras stated that his visit to Moscow aims at the renewal of Greece-Russian relations. He said that Greece is a sovereign state and has the right to seek economic alliances wherever its interests lie and exploit its geopolitical position.
The Greek PM said the two countries will cooperate on a trade and cultural level and Russia will seek investments in tourism and infrastructure in Greece. He also called on investors to build a Greek pipeline bringing Russian natural gas to the country, thereby solving the energy problem.
On his part, Putin stated that Greece did not ask Russia for financial aid. The trade deal the two countries signed will bring Greece 4.2 billion euros. He said he is interested in infrastructure investments, such as the Thessaloniki Port. He also said the Turkish Stream gas pipeline could make Greece an energy hub that could transport gas to central Europe.
Before the press conference, the two leaders and their delegations signed a Memorandum for “2016: Year of Greece-Russia relations,” a program of bilateral actions for 2015-2016 and a common official announcement for the 70 years since the end of World War II that will be celebrated in Moscow next month.
