In an interview with Russian news agency Iter-Tass ahead of his official visit to Moscow on April 8, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras signaled that Greece seeks to upgrade its relationship with Russia.

“We can have a substantial cooperation that will allow Greece to export its agricultural goods to the Russian Federation,” the Greek Prime Minister underlined, adding that over the past years, these relations have been damaged by the previous governments’ failure to avoid the “senseless sanctions policy amid tensions in Ukraine.”

Tsipras also made specific reference to Greece’s stance during an incident that occurred shortly after he took office, when he received a message from European Council President Donald Tusk that “almost took for granted Greece’s position in favor of sanctions.”

“I called him and also Federica Mogherini and told them: ‘Don’t think that Greece’s position is pretty much a given, the situation has changed and now there is another government in Greece. And now you should ask us before you take the decisions’,” the Greek PM noted.

When asked his opinion about the sanctions, Tsipras characterized them as “a road to nowhere,” and said all sides must sit at the negotiating table and find solutions to major problems.