Tsipras: Greece will seek to mend ties between Russia & EU through European institutions

Published time: April 08, 2015 14:10

April 8, 2015. President Vladimir Putin, right, and Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras at a meeting at the Kremlin. (RIA Novosti/Aleksey Nikolskyi)

Greece will use its presence in various European institutions to promote dialogue between Russia and EU countries, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras said after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

Dialogue on a range of European issues, including security in the region, is not possible without Russia, Tsipras added.

“There is a direct necessity to return to a serious dialogue on a new architecture of security, strengthening the role of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] with the help of this dialogue,” Tsipras said at the press conference.

Putin said he discussed the future of relations between Russia and the European Union with the Greek prime minister. “We’ve exchanged opinions on the prospects for Russia-EU relations,” he told a press conference.

Speaking after the meeting with Tsipras, Putin also stressed that Athens has not formally asked Moscow for financial help to pay off its debt.

“The Greek side did not contact us with any requests for help,” the Russian president said, when asked by a journalist whether Russia could help Greece with its debt burden.

READ MORE: Greece hasn’t applied for economic help from Russia – Putin