Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that Russia has a special bond with Greece and expressed hope that the relations between the two countries would start developing soon despite the recent deterioration, in an interview with the Kathimerini newspaper.
ATHENS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2018) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that Russia has a special bond with Greece and expressed hope that the relations between the two countries would start developing soon despite the recent deterioration, in an interview with the Kathimerini newspaper.
"We have special, close ties with Greece and we are not aiming to sacrifice them. We respect Greece. The religious factor plays its role, the ties between the two countries remain strong. But politics has its own logic as well. There were politicians in Greece, who were put under pressure and made a decision that Russia regretted ... I hope that problems with Greece will be solved soon and the Russian-Greek relations will develop," Bogdanov said.
Bogdanov added, commenting on Russia's supplies of S-400 air defense systems to Turkey and Russia's aid to Ankara in the construction of a nuclear power plant, that Russia's cooperation with other countries, especially in the filed of security, was not intended to harm Greece.
"As far as I know, Greece and Turkey are members of the same security organization, NATO, so they should not fight each other," the diplomat said.
Commenting on the results of the recently-held referendum in Macedonia, Bogdanov noted that only 37 percent of the country's citizens voted in the referendum and not all Macedonians wanted the country to join NATO and the European Union in accordance with the Prespa agreement with Greece.
In July, Greece decided to expel two Russian diplomats over allegations of their attempts to sabotage the Greek-Macedonian talks on changing the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to the Republic of North Macedonia. Russia responded by expelling two Greek diplomats, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova saying that Greece was pressured into expelling the Russian diplomats.
