“We are concerned about the escalation of the situation in the eastern Mediterranean. We believe that any economic activity must be in compliance with international law,” Russian Ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov said on Monday morning in relation to Turkish provocation in the Cypriot EEZ.

He went on to express the hope that the countries involved would avoid taking steps that might lead to further tension in the region and will not create additional obstacles to reaching a solution, during an interview on Greek state broadcaster ERT.

It should be noted that despite the strong condemnation of Turkey’s blatant provocation against Cyprus’s national sovereignty by Washington, Berlin, Paris, Brussels and the vast majority of the international community, Moscow opted to take a more measured stance, effectively keeping a neutral position on the dispute.

Referring to the supply of Turkey’s S-400 missile systems and the diplomatic fallout with the US, the Russian Ambassador claimed the deal did not violate any international law.
“These systems are completely defensive and do not pose any risk to Greece, which also has the Russian S-300 systems”, he said.

On the issue of the Prespes Agreement between Greece and FYROM, Mr Maslov said that the resolution of the name dispute paved the way for a “hurried” integration of North Macedonia to NATO, a development he claimed would not contribute to security and stability in the Balkan region.