Moscow opens wide prospects for military/technical cooperation with Greece

The ambassador referred to Russian-made weapon systems in the Greek arsenal (eg Kornet anti-tank missiles), under contracts which were signed more than 15 years ago, with cooperation being continued through material referbishment programs by the Russian defense industry.

Maslov estimates that "there are no complaints about our equipment from the Greek side since it has proven to be good and of high quality", but recognizes that membership in the Atlantic Alliance imposes "some restrictions on the development of military and technical cooperation" with Greece.

Reference is made to the last visit by the Greek Minister of Defense, Panos Kammenos to Moscow, and that a committee of experts on military and technical cooperation is regularly convened. The last meeting took place in the summer of 2017, according to the diplomat.

The most interesting thing is the ambassador's report that Moscow and Athens have overcome the crisis in bilateral relations as a result of the expulsion of Russian diplomats and the issuing of bans on entry for two others while he considered that the current conditions there do not seem to be any intentions to expel more Russian diplomats.

It is obvious that this interview is related to the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to Moscow. Greece, as the Russian ambassador is well aware, is worried about the possibility that Moscow's cooperation with Ankara could be "anti-Hellenic".

The Ambassador's report on the limitations of NATO membership is positive, as long as he does not expect Greece to adopt the Turkish "behavioral model" towards its allies and friends.

Normally, the Russians should be concerned that they can easily fall victim to a similar policy, which may be characterized as "Machiavelian," but it becomes dangerous when it takes on ideological  - religious characteristics.