The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias will travel on Wednesday to Moscow, where he will meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov at noon. After their meeting, a press conference and business lunch will follow.
According to the Russian Ministry, the purpose of the meeting is to boost the bilateral relations of the two countries in strategic areas, as determined in the recent communication between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian statement specifically mentions the interest in the “Turkish Stream” natural gas hub on the Greco-Turkish order. Other matters on the agenda, aside from energy, will be transport, education and the credit sector.
The cultural ties between the two countries are highlighted, with the Russian statement mentioning the efforts to celebrate a “Year of Russia” in Greece and a “Year of Greece” in Russia in 2016, as well a thousand years of Russian monasticism at Mount Athos.
The Russian side is also interested in Greece’s estimation on managing the Ukrainian crisis. Greece has argued that a solution to impasse must come through political means, rather than military. The two sides will also have to an opportunity to debate the terrorist threats posed by the Islamic State, as well as the Cypriot dispute, to which Russia has committed to help find a long-term solution.
The Greek Minister will then visit Paris and Kiev, where he will meet his French and Ukrainian counterparts to discuss the ongoing military crisis in Ukraine, along with bilateral and international relations.
