Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin today at 12:00 (Greek time).
From Sochi, after the end of their meeting, Mitsotakis and Putin will make statements to the press.
Varvitsiotis: Aim of the meeting is the warming of Greek-Russian relations
Regarding the burning issue of energy, Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis stressed that "Moscow is a reliable and the most important supplier of natural gas to Greece and what we want is to continue the uninterrupted supply of gas at a lower cost."
He said that the goal of the meeting between Mitsotakis and Putin is to warm Greek-Russian relations.
The agenda of the discussion includes cooperation in the fields of energy, tourism, culture and education, as informed by the government spokesman, Giannis Ekonomou. Also, they will discuss regional and international developments.
In a radio interview with SKAI, Varvitsiotis stressed that Kyriakos Mitsotakis is one of the few leaders welcomed by the Russian President.
He also detailed his trip to Moscow last week, in which the Cooperation Protocol and a series of agreements "for the deepening of the Greek-Russian economic cooperation" were signed.
"We hope the meeting will signal this warming, which, however, does not change the basic characteristics of Greek foreign policy," said Varvitsiotis.
He also pointed out that Russia is a key factor in the European security architecture.
The deputy minister noted the expectation of Greece to "go in depth into an economic cooperation to enhance bilateral trade that aims to attract investments in order to fill the gap left behind by Russian countermeasures to European sanctions."
Finally, regarding the burning issue of energy, he stated that Moscow is a reliable and the most important supplier of natural gas for Greece, stressing that there is an expectation that there will be a continued and uninterrupted supply of gas at a lower cost.
For its part, the Kremlin emphasises that the leaders in the context of their meeting will refer to the economic, political and cultural cooperation of the two states.
"They are scheduled to discuss the full range of Russian-Greek cooperation at the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian levels, and are expected to exchange views on issues on the international and regional agenda," he said.
Today's visit of the Greek Prime Minister to Russia takes place after his communication with the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, where - among other things - they talked about "Russian aggression."
It should be emphasised that the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, had also reproduced allegations of "Russian aggression," sparking strong reactions.
The briefing from the Kremlin
As the Russian side confirmed yesterday, Putin and Mitsotakis will meet today and discuss economic, political and cultural cooperation between their countries.
Finally, the Kremlin clarified that the two leaders are expected to "exchange views on issues related to the international and regional agenda."
READ MORE: The myths and truths of Greek-Russian relations.
