Main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras met Russia’s First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Vladimir Titov, in charge of relations with European countries, at the Russian foreign ministry on Tuesday.

In his statements as he was leaving the ministry, Mr. Tsipras said he had an “in-depth briefing meeting” with Titov that was exceptionally “substantive”.

Alexis Tsipras, who is currently in Moscow on a two-day visit at the head of a SYRIZA delegation, noted that Titov was in charge of Russian diplomacy for European issues, including Greek-Russian cooperation, and said they exchanged views on EU-Russian and German-Russian relations, as well as bilateral cooperation issues.

SYRIZA’s leader underlined that the necessary political will had been missing in the past to develop bilateral cooperation and that the Russian side had noted the many unexploited possibilities in this direction. Shortly before meeting Tsipras, in the framework of a joint initiative by the Left in Greece and Germany on the problem in Ukraine, Titov had also met the head of Germany’s Leftist Die Linke party Gregor Gysi.

Tsipras said his talks with Titov offered an opportunity “to obtain a complete picture about current developments in the Ukraine issue. We underlined our concerns, where we coincide and where we disagree with the Russian side but, chiefly, we underlined the need for a peaceful resolution to this crisis. And the need, on the part of the EU, to highlight dialogue, negotiations and the diplomatic route, and not sanctions or an escalation of tension.”
“In the last days, also, we had the opportunity to submit the view that Ukraine must be a bridge of cooperation and not division in the heart of Europe and that the Ukrainian people are the only ones empowered to decide their future, through constitutionally foreseen democratic processes, whether these are elections or referendums.”