“It was with great pleasure that I met today with the Speaker of the Upper House of Parliament of the Russian Federation Ms Valentina Matviyenko, an acquaintance and friend of mine ever since I was Mayor of Athens and we had inaugurated an ambitious plan which gradually started to be implemented firstly in the relations between the two cities.
Today, in our new duties, we had the opportunity to generally discuss issues pertinent to the bilateral relations between Russia and Greece and, certainly, to analyse the situation as it has evolved in our wider region.
We also discussed issues related to the defence cooperation between the two countries.
She demonstrated special interest in issues which regard our country and, certainly, we placed particular emphasis on the Syrian crisis. About this issue, I remind once more – the position of Greece was firm and consistent from the very beginning of this crisis – that a political solution must be sought at any cost.
This is why the initiative which was taken by the two presidents, President Putin and President Obama, was saluted and enjoys the support of the international community, always looking forward to a political solution of this matter, of this crisis, which sets major risks not only for the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, but for the rest of the world as well. Therefore, security, stability and cooperation issues prevailed in our discussion.
I had the opportunity, during our discussion with the Speaker of the upper House of Parliament, to present and highlight the important role our country plays in its region as a stability factor. It is a matter of particular significance for Greece, especially in this critical time, to have this role as well as the country’s capabilities, in which the Greek defence system can play a key role, highlighted.
We are a peaceful country. Our country has always been in the front line of every effort for peace, cooperation, security and stability and this is the message it sends to our wider neighbouring region, the Eastern Mediterranean, and all over the world.”