Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Russian President, Vladimir Putin, held a meeting in Sochi, Russia on Wednesday.
The two leaders focused on trade, energy, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean during the meeting.
During a joint press conference, Putin said that in the first nine months of the year, bilateral trade increased by 56 percent.
He said Russian companies have a strong interest for investing in Greece and “we expect the same response from the respective Greek ones.”
READ MORE: Greece and Russia sign cooperation protocol.
The President went on to discuss energy and say that Russia covers more than 40% of Greece’s energy needs.
“Russia is fulfilling its obligations to Greece and the EU and will continue its uninterrupted supply of natural gas,” he said.
On Cyprus, he reiterated that Russia supports the solution of a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation.
In response, the Greek Prime Minister thanked Russia for sending firemen to Greece last summer to help with the devastating wildfires that raged for days, despite the country facing itself large blazes in Siberia.
READ MORE: Foreign Ministers of Greece and Russia meet to discuss restoring historic ties.
On energy, Mitsotakis said that Russia “has proven to be a reliable supplier of gas to Greece, just as Greece is a reliable partner.”
Commenting on EU-Russian relations, he said it is important to continue the dialogue.
“I recognise the great challenges, I recognise the need to always keep the channels of communication open. Russia is part of the European Security architecture,” he said.
He also thanked Russia for its position on the Cyprus issue.
Source: Ekathimerini.
