Wednesday, Brussels had their eyes on Russia, where the Greek Prime Minister met President Putin. Greece hopes to reap the benefits of strengthening its relations with Russia, but European partners are concerned about the consequences.
Advancing a less his trip to Russia, Alexis Tsipras had fueled much speculation. Greece would she turn to Moscow to get the money that the Europeans refuse it without major reforms in return?
At the end of their , the Russian president has in any case denied all requests for assistance from Greece. Russia may participate in the privatization in the country and invest in infrastructure projects, but nothing too concrete for now. It also invites Athens to become one of the entry points in Europe of its new pipeline project.
For his part, Alexis Tsipras defended in a tweet the right to lead his country as he sees his foreign policy, in line with its role as a European country, Mediterranean and Balkan.
He also criticized the new EU sanctions against Russia.
As for the Russian embargo on European fresh produce, it is always for Greece although this has severely affected agriculture. About 40% of Greek exports to Russia were exports of fruits and vegetables until the introduction of the ban last summer.
To better understand the issues that this visit will continue on Thursday, we interviewed political scientist Konstantinos Filis.
euronews: "We meet in Athens on international relations professor Konstantinos Filis. Mr. Filis, Greece hoped with this visit? "
Konstantinos Filis: "Europeans ask Greece to reduce its relationship with Russia when they themselves - including the major European countries - maintain relations with Moscow by focusing on their national interests. On the other hand, Greece should in no way linked to strengthen its ties with Russia in the ongoing negotiations with its creditors for two reasons: first, because it would send the wrong signal to European partners who would this as an opportunistic approach, the message being: If you do not respond to our demands, we will go elsewhere. Second, Russia can not be considered as an alternative for Greece, but only as an additional choice. "
euronews: "Martin Schulz asked the Greek government not to jeopardize the united position of the EU on sanctions against Russia. But in a statement to the news agency, Alexis Tsipras strongly criticized the sanctions. Is not that dangerous? "
Konstantinos Filis: "I think that Athens will not take his distance from the common position of the European Union if it leads to isolation. It will attempt to form a bloc within the European Union grouping countries that share the same vision and have similar priorities such as Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Cyprus and Hungary, while Hungary leadership very special and that Greece should take care not to be associated. The idea is to show that Russia can be very useful and it is on this basis that we need a single European position. "
euronews: "The Greek foreign minister joined Hungary to support the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project. Should we conclude that some Member States stand at a time when the EU is trying to establish a union of energy, specifically to be less dependent on Russian gas? "
Konstantinos Filis: "Regarding the participation of Greece in Turkish LiveStream, very specific conditions, which are essential for the realization of the project must be completed. First, countries that were hit by the South stream drops as Austria and Italy, too, are involved in the pipeline project linking Russia and Turkey in the Black Sea and then join Europe. The second condition is to find companies that carry gas since Russia can supply the gas to the Greek-Turkish border, but no further as this would have implications contrary to EU rules. Finally, make sure that there is a common European position or at least a Brussels agreement to support the project, because without a Brussels support, the project could well be buried, as happened with South stream. "
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