Mitsotakis dines with Lavrov in Moscow

"We are developing a broad and dense network of international contacts for the benefit of the country and national interests. In this framework, relations between Greece and Russia acquire their own special significance, since the many close historic ties linking the two peoples are well known.

"Greece is a country that inseparably belongs to the Western security and value system. This does not mean, however, that it cannot improve its bilateral relations with Russia. And this was the subject of the contacts I had today with Prime Minister Medvedev, Foreign Minister Lavrov and the chairman of the State Duma, to discuss how the framework of bilateral relations between Greece and Russia can be expanded and strengthened.

"We discussed special matters that concern economic cooperation and how we can extend our capability to attract foreign investments from Russian in Greece and how, at the same time, we can improve the performance of Greek exports to Russia, while always acknowledging the framework and restrictions in which we operate.

"I believe that, for Russia, Greece can be a reliable and trustworthy partner and this is precisely the direction that ND's policy intends to move, provided that the Greek people place their trust in ND after the next elections."

According to sources, Russian officials that met Mitsotakis agreed that the economic parameter and Russian investments in Greece, currently on a very small scale, were a condition for extending relations. Energy issues were among the subjects broached, the sources said, where they noted that previous ND governments had taken significant steps though "factors outside of Greece did not allow the full implementation of some major projects".

On the Prespes Agreement, while both sides disagreed with the approach followed, they did so for different reasons, with ND opposing the issue of Macedonian language and ethnicity but not the entry of North Macedonia into NATO. On the Cyprus issue, by contrast, both sides agreed on rights of intervention and that the guarantor system was "outdated" and must change, the sources claimed.

Prior to meeting Lavrov, Mitsotakis met on Thursday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, who said that "it is difficult to find another country with such long and deep relations with Russia as Greece".