ATHENS (Sputnik) – The Russian leader arrived in Greece for a two-day visit on Friday. During Friday talks with Putin, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that strengthening ties between Moscow and Athens is the "strategic choice" of the Greek nation.
"We have done a lot for the development of our intergovernmental relations when your party was in power in the Greek government," Putin said on Friday, while on a two-day visit to Greece, adding that Moscow "hopes that representatives of your party [New Democracy] in parliament will support our current initiatives and contribute to the development of Russian-Greek ties."
Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday that he was "very interested" in developing economic relations with Russia and stressed that Greece and Russia are linked by close ties based on common traditions.
The year 2016 is the Russia-Greece cross-cultural year, as it marks the 1,000-year anniversary since the first Russian settlement on the Holy Mount Athos in Greece.
