Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed his country’s friendship with Greece during a visit to Athens where he addressed the Greek-Russian Energy Conference, held within the framework of the 4th Greek-Russian Social Forum, at Zappeion.
Lavrov had earlier met with the Greek Prime Minister at Maximos Mansion, where the two discussed existing cooperation between Russia and Greece in the areas of tourism and investments.
“Your visit comes at a crucial time for stability in the wider region’’ Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Lavrov, adding that his presence marks the need to maintain close [bilateral] relations.
The Russian Foreign Minister referred to his meeting during his address to the conference, saying he had “just met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and we confirmed the dynamics of mutual friendship and respect between the two countries,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in the presence of Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Environment and Energy Minister Panos Skourletis.
During his address Lavrov referred to the current international situation, which he described as difficult, he welcomed the actions of social diplomacy and stressed the need for the existence of the Greek-Russian Social Forum. He also underlined that it is a good step for the existence of international contacts and dialogue adding that it has significantly contributed to the development of bilateral relations. He stressed the intellectual contact between the two peoples which exists despite the political choices and circumstances.
On the occasion of the 190-year anniversary (2017) of the Battle of Navarino, the Russian minister stressed that “we should work together to honour this important anniversary.”
“We both fought against fascism,’’ said Lavrov referring to World War II and later expressed confidence that the current 4th Greek-Russian Social Forum will be an important step in strengthening and widening the Greek-Russian relations.
