MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak invited Greece to become the sixth member of the BRICS New Development Bank during phone talks with the country's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.
"This is an advantage, because Greece will not depend only on one source of financing, it will not run the risk of becoming a colony."
Greece's debt to the troika of international creditors (US-based International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank) amounts to some $270 billion.
"We all understand that the reason [behind Russia's invitation] is the difficult state of Greek economy. Another reason is that Russia and other BRICS countries, which have long-term economic ties with Greece, want to have joint investment projects with Greece, which will be financed by source not controlled by Europe or the United States."
She underlined that the invitation will allow Greece not only to pay off debts, but also to boost investment and development, adding that the offer will be considered very carefully by the Greek prime minister.
Greek Deputy Defense Minister Costas Isychos told Sputnik on Tuesday that Tsipras is planning to attend the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 18-20 and discuss an invitation for Greece to become a member of the BRICS New Development Bank.
The agreement on the creation of the New Development Bank (NDB) was signed on July, 15, 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil by BRICS members – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa during the BRICS summit.
