Moscow--Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday called for an end to the "vicious cycle" of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, while Russia's President Vladimir Putin denied using Athens to sow discord within the EU.
Putin and Tsipras hailed mutual ties after meeting in the Kremlin on the first of two days of the Greek premier's visit to Russia that is closely watched by the European Union amid its worst standoff with Moscow since the Cold War.
"To get out of this profound crisis we need to leave behind this vicious cycle of sanctions," Tsipras said after talks with Putin.
Several Western observers had accused Putin of seeking to use cash-strapped Greece as a "Trojan horse" in the EU, with the country possibly vetoing any future embargoes against Moscow over the alleged presence of Russian troops and weapons in eastern Ukraine.
"About mythology and Trojan horses and so forth: the question would be valid if I was the one going to Athens," Putin told a reporter asking about the EU fears. "We are not forcing anyone to do anything."
"We are not going to use anything inside the European Union to solve in a fragmented fashion the issue of improving relations with the European bloc as a whole," Putin continued.
He further refuted suspicions that Tsipras is cosying up to the Kremlin in hopes of getting financial aid for its empty coffers.
"The Greek side has not approached us with any requests for help," Putin said.
Russia last summer issued a blanket ban on importing most agricultural products from the EU, in retaliation against sanctions imposed by the bloc against Moscow. Greece was particularly hard-hit as over 40 percent of its exports to Russia were farm products.
AFP
