Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Wednesday, in Athens. Speaking in front of the cameras, the Russian diplomat alleged the efforts to reach a political solution in the Syrian crisis were being sabotaged. The two men talked extensively about the Syrian conflict and the Cypriot problem in front of the reporters. “On numerous occasions there have been attempts of sabotage at the UN Security Council to undermine a resolution that could lead to a political solution of the Syrian crisis”, Lavrov claimed. “If these resolutions had been honestly adopted progress could have been achieved on the matter”, he underlined. Commenting on the Cypriot problem, the head of Russian diplomacy said that some in the UN were placing obstacles in the efforts to reach an agreement. “We will not accept external pressures on arreeing to a deadline being imposed”, Lavrov clarified, referring to the Cypriot problem, adding that the Greek and Turkish Cypriots would have to agree and the UN Security Council had already laid down the framework of the deal concerning the self-determination, the property and land disputes. “We will contribute so that UN efforts to resolve the problem are made within the framework of the decisions of the UN Security Council”, he pointed out. On his part, Prokopis Pavlopoulos said that Greece supported all initiatives towards a cooperation between the US, the EU and Russia in addressing the Syrian crisis, while he expressed his gratitude for the support Russia demonstrated at the UN on the Cypriot problem.

Meeting with Tsipras

Following his meeting with the Greek President, Sergey Lavrov met with Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and underlined the positive prospects for a collaboration between the two countries on the issue of energy. Lavrov also touched upon the existing problems in bilateral trade and the efforts being made via the mixed bi-ministerial committee tha had been set up to remove any obstacles. Lavrov reiterated his position on the Cypriot matter, stressing the need for adopting the UN Security Council resolutions, making it clear that Russia opposed the adoption of any deadlines for the resolution of the problem that would contravene the expressed UN positions on the issue. The Greek PM said the Russian Foreign Minister’s presence signified the need for maintaining close ties between the two countries, adding that a prerequisite for peace and stability was a close relationship between Russia and the EU. Following his meeting with the Greek PM. the Russian diplomat departed for the Greek-Russian Forum at the Zappeion Conference Centre.