“The concept of ‘constructive cooperation’ between our countries is now a thing of the past, since Athens has completely destroyed it,” the Russian Ambassador to Greece, Andrey Maslov, said in an interview with “Naftemporiki”, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
“Indeed, relations between Russia and Greece have been at their worst for over three years,” after the start of the war in Ukraine, Andrey Maslov noted, adding: “The Greek government has stopped cooperating with Russia in all areas… despite the fact that imports of Russian natural gas from pipelines to Greece are increasing thanks to the attractive prices and the reliability of supplies.”
Maslov denied, however, that there is a comparison between the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing military occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkey.
Regarding international geopolitical developments, the Russian ambassador argued that “due to the West’s refusal to engage in dialogue and understanding common interests, the situation risks developing into a new conflict, in which the entire continent could now be involved.” However, he characterized as “valuable the fact that the current US authorities have realized that the resolution of serious contradictions is possible only through direct dialogue.”
The full interview of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, Andrey Maslov, to “Naftemporiki” follows:
Mr. Ambassador, Europe is celebrating the end of World War II and Russia the “Victory Day.” But, 80 years later, a war – in Ukraine – continues to hurt the old continent. Really, how close and how far are we still from the end of the war in Ukraine?
This year we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory over German Nazism, which was achieved with the decisive contribution of the Soviet people. We also honor the support of other states of the Anti-Hitler Alliance. In those years, the allies managed to overcome the ideological differences that existed and crush the Third Reich and its satellites, which threatened to enslave and destroy Europe. Today, due to the refusal of dialogue and understanding of common interests on the part of the collective West, the situation risks developing into a new conflict, in which the entire continent may now be involved.
“Russian positions on the prospects for resolving the Ukrainian issue have been expressed many times. Achieving a real, lasting peace is impossible without fulfilling the goals of the Special Military Operation, which President Vladimir Putin has set for 2022. First is the demilitarization of Ukraine, including Kiev’s non-membership in NATO and Kiev’s confirmation of its neutral and non-aligned status. Second is the de-Nazification of the country, including dealing with the consequences of the neo-Nazi regime, which, having come to power in a coup in 2014, has consistently pursued a policy of legislative and physical extermination of everything Russian – the language, the media, culture, traditions, canonical Orthodoxy.
A number of issues also need to be resolved with Kiev’s Western allies. It is the abolition of illegal sanctions, legally invalid lawsuits and arrest warrants, the return of “frozen” assets and shamelessly stolen proceeds from them.
It is necessary to return to the discussion on guaranteeing Russia’s security against the threats posed by the hostile activity of NATO and the European Union on our western borders. The time has come for a serious discussion on the formation of a Eurasian security system that will better meet the goals of ensuring world peace.”
President Putin announced a three-day ceasefire on the occasion of Victory Day. Why not a 30-day ceasefire, as Ukraine had requested?
“Zelensky’s dissatisfaction with our initiatives proves once again how unprepared Kiev is for a real settlement. Instead of a positive response to Moscow’s proposals, the Kiev regime has once again shown that it is incapable of negotiating. What is the point of trusting the assurances of Zelensky and his followers, when they have failed to observe either the 30-day moratorium on attacks on energy facilities or the 30-hour Easter truce? Our own humanitarian initiatives proposed in 2022 also remained unilateral.
The refusal to implement any agreements is the main characteristic of the Kiev regime, which is why Ukraine found itself in the current situation. Since 2014-2015, Kiev has not fulfilled its obligations towards the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, and in the spring of 2022, on the orders of its Western leaders, it withdrew from talks with Russia, at the same time legally prohibiting any contacts with Moscow.
Mr. Ambassador, US President Trump is trying to have a mediating role to the end of the war, but without success so far. How does Moscow view the Trump initiative?
“It is worth recognizing that after the return of the Republicans to the White House, the US is demonstrating a more constructive approach to the Ukrainian crisis compared to the previous administration, which uncontrollably exacerbated the situation and promoted Kiev’s integration into Atlantic structures. It is very important that the current US authorities have realized that the resolution of serious contradictions is possible only through direct dialogue. Nevertheless, the final evaluation of any initiatives can only be made on the basis of real results.”
However, there is a similar case that always ‘bleeds’ Hellenism, but also an EU member state, the Republic of Cyprus. The ongoing occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkey for half a century…
“Any parallels between the events in Ukraine and Cyprus do not withstand any criticism. The causes are completely different. Even the coups in Nicosia in 1974 and in Kiev in 2014 that have caused tragic events were of a different nature. For this reason, any parallels between these events do not hold up either historically or politically.”
Mr. Ambassador, you have repeatedly argued that bilateral relations between Russia and Greece are at their worst level ever. Where do you attribute this?
“Indeed, relations between Russia and Greece have been at their worst for over three years. After the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, the Greek government stopped cooperating with Russia in all areas, even in culture. “All the wealth of bilateral relations that we created together over decades was lost in an instant. This was the choice of the Greek government.”
However, you have said that Moscow is ready for constructive cooperation with the Hellenic Republic as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council…
“The concept of ‘constructive cooperation’ between our countries is now a thing of the past, since Athens has completely destroyed it. A productive working dialogue between the two members of the UN Security Council would undoubtedly be useful, but what we repeatedly hear from the permanent representative of Greece in New York burdens the climate even more and becomes an additional obstacle to such cooperation.”
The energy cooperation between Greece and Russia is still valid, however. Greece continues to cover 40% of its needs with Russian natural gas…
“The Greek government has long stated that it aims to fully end dependency on Russian natural gas. This position is regularly repeated by Greek officials. In practice, however, imports of Russian natural gas by pipeline into Greece are increasing for understandable reasons, which are attractive prices and reliability of supplies. According to ELSTAT data, the share of Russian gas constitutes 54.7% of all Greek natural gas imports.
Don’’t you see any scope for restoring trade and economic cooperation between our countries, if the war in Ukraine ends?
“The question about the possibility of restoring trade and economic relations between our countries would be logical to address to those who have destroyed them.”
One last question, Mr. Ambassador: You have been in our country for about 11 years, if I am not mistaken. How do you see the attitude of Greek society towards Russia?
“If by speaking of ‘Greek society’ we do not mean the state, but civil society, which you, obviously, have in mind, then opinion polls could be indicators of the attitude of Greek society towards Russia. But I do not know if such opinion polls have been conducted. I can only say that in everyday life, Russian citizens, our compatriots, employees of the diplomatic mission, tourists, do not receive any negativity from the Greeks, just as they do not suffer oppression from the Greek authorities.”
The EU’s irresponsible stance, with distorted slogans
Europe supports Ukraine, refusing to recognize the occupation of Ukrainian territories and the annexation of Crimea by Russia. Isn’t this demand fair?
“Europe continues to cover up its irresponsible stance with slogans that distort the essence of the ongoing crisis. By constantly talking about the so-called ‘annexation’, Europeans forget that after the coup in Kiev in 2014, the Republic of Crimea declared its independence and reunited with Russia after a referendum held in full compliance with international rules. Similarly, the right to self-determination, enshrined in the UN Charter, was also exercised by the residents of Donbas and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions in September 2022.
However, the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is not due to the territorial issue. This has also been emphasized by President Vladimir Putin to the authorities of the Special Military Operation. The actions of the Russian army are a forced measure aimed, first of all, at ensuring the security of our country and defending the Russians who have suffered persecution and terrorism in Ukraine. Europe did nothing to halt the trends observed since 2014. And in early 2022, the collective West, including the EU states, explicitly refused to discuss with us the differences in understanding the fundamental principles of European security.
For over three years, Brussels has been doing nothing to stop the bloodshed. Instead of participating in the dialogue that has just begun, the European Union continues to support Zelensky. In addition to the fact that they continue to supply weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Europeans are seriously discussing the dispatch of teams from NATO member states to Ukraine, while they intend to strengthen their military industry.
Almost overnight, the slogans about the need to “green” the European economy, which had been promoted for years, were replaced by calls for “re-armament” and “preparation for war with Russia.”
That is, today the European Union is promoting a line that is completely contrary to the principles of ensuring peace, on which the common European process that has been launched since 1975 was based.
