Greek University awards Putin for peace

A Greek university awarded President Vladimir Putin an award during a ceremony at the Russian embassy on Monday.

The Democritus University of Thrace announced that it was awarding its gold medal to Putin for his "exceptional contribution to regional stability and prosperity," said Stavros Toupoulidis, rector of the university.

Toupoulidis also added that the RussianPresident has contributed steadfastly to the preservation of the Orthodox spirit of peace and friendship and to establishing mutually beneficial relations between Greece and Russia.

The award was received by the Russian Ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov on behalf of the Russian President who praised the university saying it has contributed greatly to the Greek-Russian relations in the humanities and in promoting Russian culture and language.

Maslov also said that the Russian centre established at the university in collaboration with the Moscow-based Foundation Russkiy Mir (Russian world) will open in 2018.