Friendly Support From Moscow May Help Debt-Ridden Athens Overcome Problems

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – Greece's problems could be solved in "a more friendly way," if Moscow were to continue a flexible dialogue with debt-stricken Athens, former Greek Minister of Health and Social Security Panagiotis Kouroumplis said.

"Greece should continue its creative dialogue with Russia, in order to deal with the Greek people’s problems in a more friendly way," Kouroumplis told the EurActiv Greece news portal Thursday.

According to the media outlet, the former minister in the left-wing Syriza-led government noted that Greece should follow a multilateral foreign policy, concerning relations between Greece and Russia.

The Greek economy has been severely constrained for several years, as Athens struggles to service and pay off its multi-billion-dollar debt to the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and Eurozone countries.

Greek politicians have repeatedly voiced discontent about the European Union's anti-Russia sanctions, stating that the restrictions are seriously damaging the Greek economy. In April, then Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that the anti-Russia sanctions, imposed by the West, constitute a form of economic warfare.

On September 7, the Greek Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General for International Economic Relations Giorgos Tsipras said that should the left-wing Syriza party win the upcoming snap parliamentary elections, it would continue its close cooperation with Russia.