Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis meets with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Andrey Maslov (Athens, 22 August 2019)

Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis meets with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Andrey Maslov (Athens, 22 August 2019)The Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, received the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Andrey Maslov, in a courtesy meeting on Thursday, 22 August, occasioned by the assumption of his new duties.

During the meeting, they reaffirmed the two sides’ shared desire to pursue further enhancement of Greek-Russian relations. Mr. Maslov expressed Russia's interest in Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visiting Greece by the end of the year.

They also discussed the potential for cooperation in the investment sector, and the Alternate Minister referred to the problems faced by exports of Greek agricultural products to Russia and the imposition of very high tariffs on imports of Greek furs.

There was also a discussion on international and regional issues. In this context, one of the issues raised by the Alternate Minister was the destabilising role of Turkey, which, through its continuing illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, is undermining security and stability in the region.

Finally, the Alternate Minister invited Russia to participate in the bicentennial events to be held in Greece in 2021 to mark the anniversary of the Greek Revolution.